brainsplotch

My grandparents' cars

2012-02-11T21:34:00.002-05:00

1965 Pontiac Bonneville

1968 Dodge Polara

This may be interesting only to me but, hey, it's my blog--so nah, nah.

In my previous post, I mentioned my grandparents' cars: the first two that I can remember, in any case. Above is the 1965 Pontiac Bonneville (to the best of my recollection--and upon research, I've narrowed it to the '66 model), and the one featured in this vintage advertisement looks exactly as I remember my Grandma C.'s car. Oh, how I loved that automobile. I can distinctly remember the large steering wheel, which was sort of an opaque gold, almost like amber. One could almost see straight through the steering wheel. And the chrome. Both this Bonneville and my Grandpa N.'s '68 Polara (pictured below) had a fair share of chrome. Though they were put of shame by the automobiles of the chrome-crazy '50s, these cars of the '60s had just enough to accentuate their streamlined bodies and interiors.

As a kid, I loved the single slender band of taillights that extended the entire width of the Polara and how it looked peering out of my grandparents' garage. It was hypnotizing--and the times it was parked side-by-side with the T-Bird--even more so. It's hard to put it into words, but cars had a power and character that seems missing in today's smaller, eco-friendly models--or maybe it's just my sense of nostalgia talking.

It was the architecture, geography, and design ofthe back side of the car, the way the shadows of the garage played off of thecontours that mesmerized me. Childrenseem much more attuned to small details, the minutiae of life that adults missor simply don’t notice. I notice thiswith my own children who can immediately tell the difference between a Toyotaand a Nissan, where I am simply oblivious to the finer details. In my nostalgic streak, I insist that it wasthe older cars that had more character, but maybe it’s actually just thegrown-up in me who doesn’t have the time or ability to pay attention to details.

Here I am standing alongside my Grandma C.'s Bonneville, circa 1971. We were on a trip to visit my aunt, uncle, and cousins in the upper peninsula of Michigan. This was close to the height of my young automotive obsession. The era in which I memorized the appearance of every make of car, down to the details of their dashboards and windshield wipers.

This is a 1964 Ford Thunderbird, similar to the one my Grandpa N. had. It was usually parked along the side street of their house in Trenton, Michigan. I used to go to my grandparents' house and spend weekends when I was a kid. At that time, my grandpa had a side business as an upholsterer in addition to his regular job at Mobil Oil. Sometimes grandpa would have to go visit customers and he'd invariably take the T-Bird. I always went with him on these trips and wow, how I loved riding in that car. Once again--the chrome. Something about the contrast of the leather interior and the chrome, and all the cool little chrome levers and controls on the dash. It just get into my young brain and enraptured me. Am I being a little too dramatic? Maybe it's just the nostalgia talking.

I've been working on this post off and on for quite some time and now it's just time to publish it. As usual with some of these posts, I'm not quite sure where I was going with it, but definitely don't quite know how to finish it.

I'm back...whether you like it or not

2012-01-28T16:46:00.000-05:00

Hi folks, just checking in while I have a few minutes (or so I think...we shall see).

In an earlier post, I mentioned that, on Martin Luther King Day, we'd be going to the North American International Auto Show. (Nothing honors Dr. King's legacy more than slobbering over new cars, eh?). As it turns out, that trip was delayed until Saturday the 21st. Half of the adventure was just getting to Cobo Center in Detroit. We had trouble with our van's windshield washer that required us to pull over and fix it. Then, as we were approaching Detroit via the Lodge Freeway, we were diverted off the freeway because of a car accident. So all told, it probably took us an additional hour-and-a-half to get to Cobo Center. The auto show itself was insane--incredibly crowded. It was fun to see all of the different cars from practically every auto manufacturer, foreign and domestic, you can imagine; but I dared not take my eyes off either one of my kids for more than a few seconds in the fear they'd be lost in the sea of people.

It's interesting how having kids will rekindle latent interests in certain subjects. As a child, I loved cars. I memorized the look of every car I saw way back in the early 1970s, and could easily tell the difference between different makes of Chevrolet, Buick, Pontiac, Dodge, Plymouth, Chrysler, and you name it. (I was more interested in domestic makes than foreign automobiles, since one didn't see that many foreign cars back in the early '70s). I remember clearly my parents and grandparents cars like some people might remember pet dogs or cats from their childhood. My maternal grandma has a sparkly gold 1965 Pontiac Bonneville and my paternal grandparents had a white 1968 Dodge Polara; my grandpa also tooled around in a beautiful white 1964 Ford Thunderbird with black interior. I was heartbroken when he sold that car.

My two sons are now both car freaks. Together we watch episodes of the wonderful British automotive television program Top Gear. My youngest son is mainly obsessed with Italian performance cars such as Lamborghini and Pagani. My eldest son is a little more into domestic muscle cars like the Dodge Challenger and Charger. I have really enjoyed being a part of their wide-eyed fascination with the automotive world, and it has re-opened a personal interest that I thought had long ago had permanently ended (or at least placed on the backburner).

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Finally finished Keith Richards' autobiography, Life. It's hard to summarize the entire book, but some of Keith's observations were interesting and or fascinating. Brian Jones comes across as a whining, needy, attention-seeking hypochondriac. (The book has a long, fascinating--for Stones nuts like myself--passage about Keith, Brian, and Anita Pallenberg's trip to Morocco in 1967, and how Keith and Anita fell in love and left Morocco together in the dead of night, leaving Brian behind). I also had no idea that Anita turned into a paranoid junky by the late '70s, but has thankfully cleaned up since. Keith's relationship with Mick Jagger is much more complicated. I suppose it would have to be when you consider that the two guys have known each other, and have been inextricably linked, for almost their entire lives. Mick is portrayed as a social-climber, a bit emotionally guarded, and often jealous of Keith's other friendships (particularly the close bond that existed between Keith and Gram Parsons in the early '70s). At the same time, Keith marvels at Mick's talent, and is dismayed that Mick has often doubted his own abilities. This came as a surprise to me, as I never would have taken Mick Jagger as someone with an ounce of self-doubt. Overall, Life was a wonderful read, and a must for any Stones fan.

(If you are a Rolling Stones obsessive like myself, and are more interested in the creative process than the tabloid, personal, tell-all details, Keith does write at length about the creation of Beggars' Banquet and Exile on Main St. Lots of interesting tidbits about Exile's creation at Nellcote in the south of France).

I've got to say that Keith Richards has been, since I was about 19 years old, a hero of mine. With his kohl-eyed rock 'n' roll pirate persona, he's the guy I'd love to be but could never be because if I transformed into Keith Richards, I'd probably be dead within 24 hours. There's no way I could live that life--well, maybe I could live Keith's current life, but if I was Keith pre-1978, I'd be dead in a day. So it's probably better that I live vicariously through Keith by listening to his music and miming slashing open chord air guitar in the safety of my living room.

Random thoughts: Dentists, tattoos, and Wes Anderson

2012-01-12T19:08:00.002-05:00

Random thoughts on a Thursday evening:

I had to go the dentist yesterday for my semi-annual cleaning. I do not enjoy going to the dentist, but not for the reasons you might think. I can take the poking and prodding of my mouth with steel utensils. Sure, it's not what one would consider pleasant, but it really doesn't bother me that much. The main reason I dislike going to the dentist is the inevitable "flossing lecture" I receive from my somewhat high-strung and dentally pious hygienist. The thing is, I really do floss, just not the three times daily that she demands. Is there anyone in the world, outside of dentists, who actually flosses three times daily? If there is, I would really like to meet this person (or persons). Anyway, the semi-annual flossing lectures are annoying, to say the very least. I feel like saying, "I'm 43 years old, I'm set in my ways, I ain't changing. If you don't like my teeth, I'll find someone else who does. So there!" I mean, really, don't these dentists realize that if everyone's teeth were perfectly clean, they wouldn't have jobs?

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

I was listening to sports talk radio this morning (as I must admit I frequently do on my drive to work), and the subject of tattoos came up. The host was talking about an MSU football player who had received a tattoo of a "Spartan warrior" on his torso. First of all, let me say that I have absolutely nothing against tattoos. I think that, in many cases, they look quite good on people--and some of the designs are beautiful. My wife has a few tattoos (I don't think she'd mind me saying that) and I like them. (I should mention that my wife got her tattoos back in the '80s, long before tattoos became a fad). The problem with me is that I could never get a tattoo because I could never decide on an image that I was ready and willing to commit to for the rest of my life. I mean, would I really want to get a Duran Duran tattoo when I was 14 years old? At the time, yes--but over time, I don't think so. Sure, it might seem totally rad in 1982, but I have a sneaking suspicion that by 2012, it wouldn't seem like such a wonderful idea.

I do think that sometimes people go a little overboard with the tattoos. I'm not really into the "tattoos all the way up and down the arm" look. I'm not saying that people shouldn't do it, I wholeheartedly believe in "live and let live", it just seems that some people go a little too crazy on the tats. And this leads me to another thing about tattoos, when did they become so popular? One can't find a college or professional athlete who doesn't have multiple tattoos, and it even seems like every other soccer mom these days is going out with her gal pals for "tattoo parties". When middle-aged women are getting tats, then you can safely say tattooing has jumped the shark. Getting a tattoo used to be a sign of rebellion, now it's just another trendy fashion statement. Hell, I feel rebellious for NOT getting a tattoo.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

While I'm out taking walks during the day, I have many disparate trains of thought, and recently I pondered the next movie project for director Wes Anderson. He needs to do an adaptation of the young adult novel, From the Mixed-up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler. It touches upon all of Mr. Anderson's obsessions: Gen X kids books (He filmed The Fantastic Mr. Fox), pampered angst-ridden suburban youth, 1960s/70s fashions and iconography, New York City and environs as a setting, and loads of philosophical and pseudo-philosophical dialogue. (I actually like most of Wes Anderson's movies, but he does tend to get a little too precious in his films, particularly in The Darjeeling Limited and The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou).

Well, this concludes my Andy Rooneyesque ruminations. Farewell for now...

The Rolling Stones, Tim Horton's, and cars

2012-01-09T18:13:00.000-05:00

I made it through work today, and thankfully was not as tired as I feared when I wrote last night's post. However, it would behoove me to get a bit more sleep tonight.

Well, what have I been up to, you may be asking yourself (or not)? I am finally reading Keith Richards' autobiography, appropriately titled Life. I don't know why it's taken me so long to get to it, perhaps I just wasn't in the mood when it was published last year, but now seemed like a good time and I'm really enjoying it. It's particularly fun to read it and imagine Keith is actually telling the story in his own nicotine-ravaged croak of a a voice, while smoking a Marlboro and nursing a tumbler of JD. Keith is, unsurprisingly, quite a raconteur. I've gotten to the point where he's just written "Satisfaction" and the Stones have recorded it in Hollywood. The band is just about to break big in the summer of '65. Lots of good juicy parts to follow, I'm sure.

This coincides with a couple of nice finds from the Lansing Library Book Burrow, which as I've mentioned before also sells old records. I happened upon a cache of old Stones albums, and walked out of there with vinyl copies of Through the Past Darkly (Big Hits Volume 2), complete with octagonal sleeve, Metamorphosis (the 1975 rarities compilation released, against the band's wishes, by Andrew Loog Oldham), and Emotional Rescue (an album I'd previously owned on cassette but had been purged in The Great Cassette Purge of 2002). I'm not a big fan of Emotional Rescue, but I couldn't pass up a pristine vinyl copy of it. At this point, I pretty much own every Stones album worth owning.

(Brief intermission: a Tim Horton's just opened last week in Okemos. That's the sound of the "Hallelujah!" part of Handel's Messiah playing in the background as I write this. Tim Horton's coffee is more addictive than heroin, and I am currently drinking a cup of it with exactly one cream and one sugar--pure heaven. I made sure to take the freeway from Lansing to Okemos, giving me just enough time to get a Tim Horton's coffee AND make it to my youngest son's school in time to pick him up from car line).

Metamorphosis is quite wonderful. My favorite songs so far, two that I amazingly never had heard until just last week (and I thought I was a big Stones fan), are "Family" and "I'm Going Down". Both songs recorded during the band's golden period of '68-'69. I may post Youtube clips of these tunes in Brainsplotch, and you may judge for yourselves. "Family" is sort of a dark, folk-rockish song with a tinge of the psychedelia that the band had visited in '67. It features lyrics about a, shall we say, dysfunctional family with lots of issues. "I'm Going Down" is more of a groove than a well-developed song, but the propulsive engine of Keith Richards (with one of his signature open-tuned riffs) and Charlie Watts (always brilliant on the drums) really get it cooking. I can see why the Stones didn't give either song a proper release, but "I'm Going Down" might have found a nice home on Exile on Main St.

In non-music news, on MLK Day we are taking our automotive-obsessed six-year-old son to the North American International Auto Show at Cobo Hall in Detroit. Our "not-quite-as-car-obsessed-but-still-a-car-fan-because-his-little-brother-is-a-car-fan" ten-year-old will be coming as well. I'm looking forward to it because I've never been to the Detroit car show and will be interested to see what it's like.

Post-Holiday blahs

2012-01-08T23:52:00.001-05:00

It's ridiculously late on a Sunday night, and I really should be going to bed because I need to wake up at 5:30 tomorrow morning to go to work, but here I am typing away on my laptop and watching the meaningless third quarter of the inconsequential GoDaddy.com Bowl (yes, that's really its name) featuring powerhouses Northern Illinois and Arkansas State.

The holidays are over and now begins the slog threw the the winter months. The strange thing is we have no snow here, and it really feels more like late March than early January.

The immediate aftermath of the Christmas holiday is always difficult for me. There is so much buildup and anticipation for Christmas, with all the attendant good cheer, bright lights, and general excitement. Then once the holidays pass, I'm left thinking to myself, "That's it? It's over? Wow, did that go quick. Now what?" I just took down the lights in front of our house and it left me feeling a bit melancholy. I still have a sad looking Christmas tree in my living room that really needs to come down. There are few things in life more pathetic than a Christmas tree that has outlasted its welcome, not to mention its natural lifespan.

I have no choice but to cut this post short right now. It's now past midnight and I seriously need to get some sleep or I will absolutely hate myself at work tomorrow.

The final post of 2011

2011-12-31T11:22:00.001-05:00

The dust has settled on Christmas and it's already New Year's Eve. I am coming to you via our new Dell Inspiron laptop that my wife bought us (i.e. the two adults in this family) for Christmas. I have vowed that the children will not get their grubby little hands on this computer as they did our previous laptop, which is only buying time until it's inevitable trip to software heaven.

It was a good Christmas. I have stopped comparing Christmases to previous ones and worrying about whether the current holiday celebration outstrips previous ones. The older I get, the less important that becomes, I'm just happy to still be standing upright and be able to be with my family. As it is, the holiday celebrations are constantly evolving over time as generations get older and/or pass on, while new generations make their appearance on the scene. And for me, Christmas really is mainly about the children and how excited they become in anticipation of the big day.

Now, we've reached the final day of 2011. Where did the year go? The older I get, the more time seems to fly by at supersonic speed.

Overall, it was a decent year for me personally. I have a decent job in a comfortable and friendly environment, my health is good (knock on wood), I have a new laptop that I can use to bore all of you with the minutiae of my life, and most importantly I have a loving and supportive family who put up with my foibles and faults.

Let me just conclude this brief post by wishing all two or three of my readers a wonderful and prosperous 2012.

A breather before Christmas

2011-12-17T14:08:00.000-05:00

While I'm feeling reasonably inspired, and don't currently have a son playing "Minecraft", "Team Fortress 2" or "Need for Speed: Hot Pursuit" on one of our two functioning computers, I will at long last write a blog entry to let my loyal legion of readers (all two or three of you) know what I've been up to and what I've been thinking about.

First of all, I'm finally coming down off my seasonal football fever. If you don't already know (or care) the Michigan State Spartans lost the Big Ten football title game to Wisconsin, so there will be no Rose Bowl trip for Sparty. Two weeks later, I'm finally over it.

Secondly, I actually read a novel written for adults (and not for children). The first time that has happened in quite some time. The Sense of an Ending, by Julian Barnes, was quite wonderful and I highly recommend it. It touches upon the fallibility of our personal memories, and the regrets we may harbor over decisions we've made throughout our lives. Truly a thought-provoking novel by one of Britain's finest writers.

-------------------------------------

A few days ago I saw the AllMusic roundup of the year's best music and, my oh my, do I feel old. I haven't heard of at least 80 percent of the musicians mentioned. I am officially an old fart.

More and more, I seem to fall back on music I liked when I was young. The last few days I've been in a Smithereens mood, and have been listening to their first three albums (Especially for You, Green Thoughts, and 11). It's always pleasant when music you liked way back when still holds up years later, and I have to say that is the case with those three albums. There's something about the Smithereens' music that is perfect for a cold and grey December--I can't quite explain it. Perhaps it's the romantic gloom-and-doom film noir aspect of Pat DiNizio's lyrics (combined with the power pop punch of the rest of the band--of course I can't really explain why "power pop punch" has any corrolation with December).

Speaking of December, we only have one more week until Christmas. I don't ask too much from the holiday, but my only requirement is that it be a white Christmas. It doesn't have to be a lot of snow, just enough to cover the ground. In recent years, it seems that this is a dicey proposition--and I can remember a few Christmases of late that have been greenish-brown (or brownish-green). Only a few days ago, temperatures in mid-Michigan were hovering around the 50 degree mark, but I'm happy to report that we're back in the 30s and we have a dusting of the white stuff on the ground. I may now safely dream of a white Christmas.

Remember earlier in this post when I said that no kids were on our computers? Well, that changed--and I am now writing this post at 11:30 at night. I'm tired and devoid of inspiration, yet I will publish this now and add to it if I get a chance tomorrow--but don't count on it.

I'm still here!...just consumed by football fever

2011-12-03T13:03:00.001-05:00

With my beloved alma mater Michigan State playing in the Big Ten football Championship game tonight, I have been in a football frame of mind as of late. Once this whirlwind of a college football season ends, I'll try and be less neglectful of this blog.

Quite often I feel that my life would be so much easier if I wasn't a sports nut, and didn't (quite illogically) feel that the fate of the world rested on the result of an essentially meaningless sporting event, but then I conclude that life would be so much less interesting for me if I WASN'T a sports fanatic.

Sports fandom seems anathema to intellectual pursuits. Then again, people like George Will (baseball nut), Frederick Exley (football nut), and David Halberstam (all-around sports nut) have all managed to balance the two.

Anyway, I will be back when my college football fever subsides, which depending on the result of tonight's MSU/Wisconsin tilt, could be either early next week or early January.

Fourth Annual Brainsplotch Big Ten Football Awards

2011-11-28T17:35:00.001-05:00

It's time for the moment you've all been waiting for: the 4th Annual Brainsplotch Big Ten Football Awards: hereafter renamed the Brainsplotch/TFTSA Big Ten Football Awards (in honor of my new Michigan State Spartans sports-related blog, Treasures from the Spartan Attic). So, without any further preamble, the winners are...

Most Valuable Player: Russell Wilson, Wisconsin.   A case could easily be made for Wilson's backfield teammate, Montee Ball, but Wilson added a dimension to the Badger's offense that made a huge difference for them. His dual threat capabilities gave Wisconsin the most dynamic offense in the conference, if not the nation. But beyond his athletic abilities, Wilson has proven to be a great leader and teammate. Pretty darned good for a player who is essentially a one-year "free agent signee".

Best quarterback: Russell Wilson, Wisconsin.   For all the reasons listed above, and his stat line is incredibly impressive, with an astonishing 28 touchdown passes and only 3 interceptions, to go along with 2692 yards through the air.

Honorable mentions: Kirk Cousins had an outstanding senior year for Michigan State, leading them to the Legends Division title. Denard Robinson improved throughout the season at Michigan and Brady Hoke eventually settled on an offensive scheme that utililized his abilities. Dan Persa of Northwestern once again demonstrated that he is one of the toughest and grittiest (not to mention elusive) quarterback in the conference.
.
Best running back: Montee Ball, Wisconsin.   A no-brainer if there ever was one, Montee "Bowling" Ball easily led the Big Ten in rushing yards, rushing touchdowns, yards per game, and averaged an astonishing 6.5 yards per carry. His 29 rushing TDs were almost double the number (16) his closest competitor (Denard Robinson) had this season.

Honorable mentions: Marcus Coker (Iowa) had a great sophomore season, Rex Burkhead (Nebraska), Silas Redd (Penn State).

Best wide receiver: Marvin McNutt, Iowa.   McNutt, in his senior year, led the Big Ten in receiving yards and receiving touchdowns. As a Michigan State fan who has watched this guy victimize the Spartans for three years, I won't miss him--but I wish him well at the next level.

Honorable mentions: B.J. Cunningham (Michigan State), A.J. Jenkins (Illinois), Jeremy Ebert (Northwestern). I was so close to giving this to Cunningham, but don't want to be accused of being a homer. Jenkins had a good year for the Illini, and I've always been a fan of Ebert's.

Best kicker: Brett Maher, Nebraska. Maher had a great season for the Huskers. He was perfect in PATs (42-42) and led the Big Ten in field goal percentage, making 19 of the 22 he attempted. By the way, those 22 attempts and 19 conversions were tops in the conference.

Honorable mention: Mitch Ewald (Indiana). 13 of 16 of field goal attempts and perfect on PATs (30 for 30).

Best defensive lineman: Whitney Mercilus, Illinois. I didn't really see him play this year, but I sure wish I had because this guy sounds like a beast, and arguably has the most badass name in college football. Mercillus led the conference in three different defensive categories: sacks, tackles for loss, and forced turnovers. Mercillus anchored a solid Illini defense that finished third in total defense in the Big Ten. His 13 solo sacks were easily the best in the Big Ten, far outpacing the runner-up John Simon (Ohio State) who had 7 solo tackles. Mercillus also led the conference in total sacks (solo and assisted) with 13, five better than Denicos Allen (Michigan State) who had 8 (6 solo, 2 assisted). His 9 forced fumbles outdistanced his closest competitors, Chris Borland (Wisconsin) and Sean Prater (Iowa), each of whom had 4.

Honorable mentions: Jerel Worthy (Michigan State), John Simon (Ohio State), Devon Still (Penn State)

Best linebacker: Chris Borland, Wisconsin.   Borland is a tough, gritty guy who is the lynchpin of the Badgers' defense. He finished fourth in the conference in tackles, and third in tackles for loss.

Honorable mention: Lavonte David (Nebraska)

Best defensive back: Trenton Robinson, Michigan State. Robinson, a senior, is a great leader on Michigan State's conference leading defense. He tied with four other players (including teammate Isaiah Lewis) for the conference lead in interceptions.

Honorable mentions: Isaiah Lewis (Michigan State), Johnny Adams (Michigan State), Ricardo Allen (Purdue)

Best punter: Brett Maher, Nebraska. Maher led the Big Ten in punting average at 45.0. His 61-yard punt late against Penn State helped the Huskers cling to a 17-14 lead and get out of Happy Valley with a victory.

Honorable mention: Cody Webster (Purdue).

Coach of the year: Brady Hoke, Michigan. Hoke built a defense at Michigan (something Rich Rodriguez was never able to do) and performed an impressive turnaround in leading the Wolverines to a 10-2 record.

Honorable mentions: Mark Dantonio (Michigan State), Pat Fitzgerald (Northwestern). Dantonio proved that 2010 was no fluke by leading the Spartans to the Legends Division championship and a 10-2 regular season record. Fitzgerald continues to get the most out of the limited talent he has at Northwestern.

Another sign that I am an irreversible, middle-aged responsible (most of the time) adult

2011-11-12T09:11:00.001-05:00

This Thursday night, my wife and I went to Grand Rapids to see one of my many favorite bands, the Meat Puppets. The Pups, as they are affectionately called, were playing at a small club in G.R. called the Pyramid Scheme.

We were able to make last minute babysitting plans with my in-laws, and after a stop at the kids' Scholastic Book Fair at school, dropped them off with the understanding that, since the show started at 8:00 PM, we should be back into town by about 11:30. My in-laws were not going to watch the boys any later that 11:30--and it wouldn't have been fair to ask them to do so since the next day was a school day.

We arrived at the Pyramid Scheme a little before eight. The Pyramid Scheme is divided in half: the front half is a standard bar, while the back half is the performance area that is closed until that evening's show is ready to begin. So for a show that, according to the ticket, was supposed to begin at 8:00 PM, we sat and waited. And we sat and waited some more. Finally the door opened at around 8:30 PM and we entered and grabbed two ridiculously expensive beers.

Then we waited, and waited, and did a little more waiting.

At close to 9:00 PM the opening act, a sort of rustic cowpunk sort of band called Wildfire, took the stage. (For what it's worth, their guitarist/lead singer was a dead ringer for George Harrison as he appeared on the Abbey Road album cover, complete with jean jacket). Wildfire was on stage for maybe between a half-hour to 45 minutes. Then the second supporting act, a garage rock duo from Denmark called Black Box Revelation (with an impossibly tall and skinny guitarist) came on--and some drunken idiot sitting next to us decided to do his interpretive dance/air drum routine and acted bent out of shape when we made it clear we weren't in the same jovial mood. Anyway, it was clear to us that the Pups wouldn't hit the stage until at least 11:00. Unfortunately, we had no choice but to leave for home, without seeing the band we'd paid to see.

The only good thing that came out of the night was buying, for only 10 dollars, a Pups CD I didn't own, 1987's Mirage. But I'm still getting over not actually being able to see them live, so I am currently in no mood to listen to it.

It was a good thing we left when we did, because snow had just hit the Grand Rapids area and the giant snowflakes were making visibility a nightmare. Luckily, we managed to pick up the boys at about 11:45.

Today, I noticed that the Pyramid Scheme had posted photos from the Meat Puppets' performance. I'm so bummed out that I can't even look at them.

This is what happens when you hit middle-aged parenthood. The days of carefree small-club concert going is over, unless we can find an all-night babysitter. When we were single and/or childless, we'd have had no problem waiting around for the Meat Puppets to hit the stage, watching their entire gig, and getting home at 2:30 AM. Farewell, youthful days.

Announcing my newest blog, devoted to Michigan State sports

2011-10-25T20:49:00.001-04:00

For years, I've lamented that this blog had turned into my "MSU sports" blog, to the detriment of other subjects. I think I was giving the false impression that Spartan sports was my entire life, rather than just a hobby. Okay, who am I kidding, I'm fairly passionate about MSU sports, but I really never intended for this blog to be consumed by it.

That's why I have decided to create a second blog called "Treasures from the Spartan Attic" which will focus on my Michigan State University sports fandom, leaving Brainsplotch to focus on other aspects of life. So if you're dying to keep reading my thoughts about Spartan sports, simply google Treasures from the Spartan Attic.

Charleston

2011-10-23T19:25:00.002-04:00

On Saturday, I returned home from a wonderful trip to Charleston, South Carolina, having tagged along with my wife Lynda, who had to go there for a fairly swank insurance conference at the Doubletree Inn and Suites in downtown Charleston. (The photo above is St. Philip's Church at 142 Church Street, taken by me with my junky old Verizon LG phone camera. This church is located only a few blocks south of the Doubletree).

We flew in from Flint on Wednesday, October 12 and arrived in Charleston in the late afternoon. My wife registered for her conference at the hotel and then attended an informal reception. I called my old grad school classmate/friend/native Charlestonian Rick R. to see if he was still interested in getting together at some point during our stay. I hadn't seen Rick since I finished Eastern Michigan University's historic preservation program in '04, but through the miracle of social media we had reconnected through Facebook and had gotten to know each other better there than we had in our time at school.

As far back as a few years ago, Rick had said that he'd love to have us come down to Charleston, and when in the spring of this year it looked like we'd definitely be coming down for Lynda's conference, Rick had said to definitely call him when we arrived. After playing text message tag for awhile, Rick and I hooked up on Thursday evening for beers at a burger/pizza/sports bar joint called the Mellow Mushroom on King Street. The next night, Rick and his wife graciously took Lynda and I out to eat at a pretty good seafood restaurant in nearby Mt. Pleasant called RB's, where I had the shrimp and grits.

The rest of my time was spent wandering around while Lynda was in her conference. On Thursday morning, I took the ferry to Fort Sumter out in Charleston Harbor. It was a lazy, relaxing trip out there. I was amazed to learn just how far the fort is from the city of Charleston. The park ranger, an extremely energetic and engaging young guy named Brent Everitt (I was impressed with his presentation and made sure to catch his name tag) went to great pains to make sure we all understood that the first shots of the Civil War were NOT fired from the Battery at Charleston, but at Fort Johnson. Charleston is about 3 1/2 miles northwest of Fort Sumter, while Fort Johnston was about one mile due west. 1860s technology prevented a shot from Charleston being possible, but apparently some tour guides in Charleston perpetuate this myth.

Another thing I always seem to notice about historic sites I visit is that they end up being far smaller than I envisioned them to be. I felt that way about the White House, Historic Jamestown, and certainly Fort Sumter. Let me tell you, I sure as heck would not have wanted to be stationed at Fort Sumter: it's a tiny and remote location and with it's lack of shade must have been oppressively hot in the summer and probably not much better in winter.

When I returned from Fort Sumter, I made my way to King Street and felt completely out-of-place among all the high-end boutiques and ultra chic and expensive clothing stores. My destination was Blue Bicycle Books, the main used book shop in Charleston. I make a point of visiting whatever local bookshops I can find whenever I'm on vacation. Blue Bicycle was fun to browse, though I found their prices a little high and didn't buy anything. The store is long and narrow with several small rooms dedicated to a particular type of book ("history room", "childrens room", etc.). Used bookshops always have their own peculiar layout and vibe, and Blue Bicycle is no exception.

Well, I don't want to bore everyone with a blow-by-blow recap of my entire stay in Charleston, but Lynda and I managed to pack in quite a bit in the short time we were there. I bought a sweetgrass wreath from a friendly weaver (of the traditional Gulla sweetgrass style) named Mildred who had her works set up outside a church on Meeting Street. Lynda and I wandered through the Battery and up East Bay south of Broad and saw the amazing houses there. Did I mention that the architecture of Charleston is nothing short of incredible? The city breathes history and tradition in a way that few other places in America even come close.

My real education in the culture and history of Charleston came from Rick, who (as I mentioned) is a native Charlestonian and has his own building contracting business. Rick is committed to historic preservation, and drove me around town on Friday and show me some of his current projects, located on the northwest side of town near The Citadel. Rick and his wife also live in this area, in a freedman's cottage that they have been restoring. Rick told me that this part of Charleston is notable for the number of freedman's cottages, which are small one-level vernacular houses that were built in the late 19th century for newly freed slaves. Check out this link for more information about freedman's cottages:

http://www.historiccharleston.org/preservation/why_freedman.html

I could go on even further about Charleston, and I'm sure I'm forgetting something, but I need to cut it short. It was a wonderful adventure and I would gladly return in a heartbeat.

The Evil Empire is vanquished...and the Tigers move on

2011-10-08T09:06:00.000-04:00

It was 3 plus hours of heart-stopping tension on Thursday night, when the Tigers took on the Yankees. I had to watch most of the game in the Magic Basement, because I was so nervous that I had to alternately pace or lift my free weights to burn off a little steam. Outside of a Michigan State game in (name your sport), I have never wanted a team (i.e. the Tigers) to win a game so badly.

The Tigers must have been reading my previous blog post, because they jumped off to an early 2-0 lead when supersub Don Kelly and valuable newcomer Delvon Young hit back-to-back home runs. And thus began the almost unbearable tension as the Tigers hung on to that lead and eventually won, 3-2. Doug Fister, Max Scherzer, Joaquin Benoit, and Jose Valverde pitched wonderfully to contain the powerful Yankee hitting. Sure, the Yankees managed to threaten a few times, but the Tigers' pitching bore down to get out of these jams as they did for most of the regular season. Outside of a solo homer by Robinson Cano, and a bases loaded walk to Mark Teixeira pushing home a run, the Yankees were silent.

A few random observations of the game:

Yankees' manager Joe Girardi may have been overthinking his constant pitching changes. I don't think this helped his team.

The Yankees are essentially a collection of superstars (some of whom, particularly in the case of Alex Rodriguez and Derek Jeter, are aging and overpayed), the Tigers are a TEAM. This team concept is best exemplified in the way Don Kelly played. A-Rod probably makes more in one week than Kelly makes in a year, yet Kelly had a much better series and his first inning homer (quickly followed by Young's homer) set the tone for the entire game.

This matchup reminded me of the 2004 NBA Finals between the Pistons and the Lakers. The unheralded Pistons beat the Lakers' collection of superstars.

The energy and excitement in Michigan for this team, and for the resurgent Detroit Lions, is palpable. You can feel it in the air. It's amazing the way that a successful sports team can capture the imagination of a divergent group of people. It may not solve all the problems we have in Michigan, but it will at least take our minds off it a little while...and also let the rest of the nation know that there is still life here in the Rust Belt.

Well, I'm getting booted off the computer. Maybe I'll have a chance to finish these thoughts later.

R.I.P., Steve Jobs

2011-10-06T19:14:00.001-04:00

By now, you've all read every conceivable salute, requiem, remembrance, and obituary of Steve Jobs, so I don't know that I have that much to add. The man was truly a visionary, and shaped our modern world (for better or worse) in a way that no other single person has.

Today, I heard for the first time his 2005 commencement speech at Stanford. It is quite stirring and a great way for even us regular mortals to try and live our lives. Check it out if you are so inclined:

Requiem for the Tigers?

2011-10-06T19:05:00.000-04:00

...I guess we'll find out at the conclusion of tonight's game.

Doug Fister takes the mound against the Yankees in the Bronx. After his lackluster appearance in the rain-delayed first game of this American League divisional series, I fully expect the tall lanky one to pitch a good game. After pitching in Yankee Stadium last week, he should have the butterflies out of his system now.

The key for the Tigers is this: Get the bats going early and often and hope that Fister pitches the way he did down the stretch in the regular season. Detroit has to somehow get guys like Avila, Peralta, and Jackson going, and hope that the big guns like Cabrera, Martinez, and Young can keep it going--and get it done before the eighth inning because if the Yankees bullpen gets involved, it'll be lights out for the good guys from Detroit.

I still give the edge to the Evil Empire tonight, but am definitely not counting out the Tigers.

So in conclusion, let me just say:

Tough loss for the Tigers

2011-10-05T16:52:00.001-04:00

Tough loss for the Tigers last night. Curtis Granderson always seems to save a little extra for when he plays his old team the Tigers--and he was a one man wrecking crew last night. It almost seemed as if Granderson could have played all nine positions for the Yankees and they still would have won.

More from me later (I hope--we'll see if I can make it back on the computer tonight!).

It's a great time to be a sports fan in Michigan

2011-10-04T17:57:00.001-04:00

Remember me writing that I was going to try and cut down on the number of sports posts in this blog? Well, it remains true--I'm going to try hard and branch out into my other interests besides sports, but the level of excitement in Michigan regarding our local athletic teams will probably prevent me from maintaining this promise at least for the foreseeable future.

For the first time in eons (okay, maybe not eons, but it sure feels that way) both the Detroit Tigers and Detroit Lions are good at the same time. The Tigers will attempt to eliminate the Evil Empire (i.e. the New York Yankees) tonight and advance to play the Texas Rangers for the American League championship. And for the first time in 31 years, the Detroit Lions are undefeated at 4-0 with their stunning win over the NFL's evil empire, the Dallas Cowboys.

To top things off, on Saturday all the major college football teams in the state of Michigan won their respective games. For those keeping score, that's Michigan State, Michigan, Central Michigan, Western Michigan, and Eastern Michigan.

I'm usually guardedly optimistic about my favorite teams' chances, even in the best of times, so I'm trying not to get too geeked about the Tigers or Lions, but both teams are looking great right now. The Tigers will have Rick Porcello on the mound tonight. He's been inconsistent this season, but I sure hope he can pitch his best game of the year this evening--and maybe the Tigers' bats will cut loose against the Yankees' A.J. Burnett, who has been a disappointment all season for the Bronx Bombers.

The toughest part about this game, at least on a personal level, is that the starting time is 8:37 PM. (Don't ask me how Major League Baseball comes up with these weird game times). It's just too late! I stayed up until the end of last night's Tigers/Yankees game, which did not conclude until about 12:30 AM. Of course, after the Tigers' anxiety-enducing 5-4 win, I was so wired that I didn't feel like going to bed right away and watched a half-hour of the postgame commentary. I didn't finally get under the sheets until 1:00 AM, and believe me, I paid for it this morning when I had to get up at 6:00 to get out the door for work.

The worst part of these late game times is that Major League Baseball has made it quite clear that they aren't concerned about the future of the game: i.e., the kids who will hopefully grow up to become baseball fans. At least the Rangers/Rays game started at 2:00(ish) this afternoon, and the Cardinals/Phillies game started at 5:00(ish). Kids who are interested will at least be able to see those games, but if there for all the young Tiger or Yankee fans out there, forget it. Unless those kids have lenient parents, there is no way they can stay up to see the entire game tonight.

I'm heading towards my diatribe against Major League Baseball, and all the ways that it is mismanaged by Commissioner Bud Selig, but I'll save that for another time.

Well, it appears my writing time is being interrupted by that thing called "life", so I may or may not come back to complete my thoughts here.

Go Tigers! Go Lions! Go Spartans!

My lack of Michigan State football posts this year (and the Secret of the Magic Basement)

2011-10-01T11:05:00.001-04:00

Perhaps you've noticed, dear reader, that unlike years past I have neglected to weigh in on my views of MSU football. I'm sure you're desperate to know why. Well, the quick answer is that I just haven't felt like it. So far, the season hasn't seemed all that compelling. After all, who gives a damn about the Youngstown State, Florida Atlantic, and Central Michigan games? Booorrrriiiinnnnggg! I almost wrote about the Notre Dame loss, but just never got around to it. Today, the Big Ten season begins with the Spartans taking on Ohio State in Columbus. Maybe the result of that game will inpire me to write about MSU football.

I have a feeling that this is going to be "one of those years". By that I mean...a disappointment. I just have little confidence in this MSU football team this season. The offensive line has been weak thus far, and Kirk Cousins' confidence has looked shaky. And anyone with any knowledge of MSU's gridiron history over the last 45 years knows that the Spartans have a tough time stringing together two good years in a row. However, I hope that the MSU football team proves me wrong.

(I'm also trying really hard to get beyond having this blog merely as a sports blog. I'm still entertaining the thought of creating a separate "sports only" blog, and leaving this for other--more important--aspects of life).

I may be able to change the Spartans' football fortunes by watching this Saturday's Ohio State game in my "Magic Basement". The magic basement, as I have begun to call it, is where I have witnessed several sports miracles in the last four years. Now on the surface there is nothing that appears remotely magical about my semi-finished basement. By all outward appearances it is ugly, somewhat dank, and rather unkempt. A good 75 % of it is dominated by my two boys' playthings. On either end of the basement are the cats' litter boxes, so the basement frequently has the subtle scent of cat pee or poo--lovely eh? The basement, however, is the main repository of Mark's Sports Archive and Museum, and also features our old Sharp TV (with cable) and an old leather sofa. It is on this old television, in this dank underground dwelling, that I witnessed MSU's come-from-behind win over Penn State in '07, the '08 Michigan win, the '10 comeback win over Northwestern, along with several memorable Spartan NCAA tournament basketball wins. In all fairness, I also saw the MSU losses to Michigan in '07 and the end of the last-second loss to Iowa in '09, so maybe the basement isn't so magical after all. I like to remember the good games, though, and remain convinced that fairy dust has been sprinkled in the basement.

Maybe in a future post, I'll present some photos of the Magic Basement. I'm sure after my dazzling description of its beauty and charm, you are dying to see it.

My coffee obsession

2011-09-27T21:47:00.002-04:00

I love coffee. Okay, I don't just "love" coffee, I'm obsessed with coffee. I would walk several miles uphill both ways for the perfect brew. I have to have coffee every morning and just about ever evening. I don't know when this began, in fact I can't pinpoint a specific time in my past where I said to myself, "From this moment forward, I will want to drink coffee each and every day until I die."

I didn't begin drinking coffee until I was in college at Michigan State, and back then it was only for the caffeine and not for any real enjoyment. At the time, I had no taste in coffee, and I thought that the powdered flavored crap was actually rather fancy and classy. I can still remember late nights boiling water in an electric water pot and mixing in that dreadful caffeinated powder.

My most intense memory of drinking coffee in college took place in March 1989: Winter term finals week. That term, I took a political science class that dealt with the American electoral process. Among the required reading was a book called Change and Continuity in the 1984 Elections. Our professor warned us that about 80 percent of our final exam would come from that book. Now had I actually read the book? Why, of course not! Mr. Procrastinator here had spent far too much valuable time doing God knows what (probably watching The Young and the Restless and drinking my preferred beverage of that era, beer). The night before my final exam, I knew I had to read that entire book before the exam. The only way to do it was to "pull an all-nighter" and the only way I was going to be able to do this was to drink copious amounts of black coffee.

I found myself a table in the Shaw Hall cafeteria, which was always open all night as a study hall, and took advantage of the free residence hall coffee that was offered during finals week. I have no idea how many cups of coffee I drank during that all-nighter, but I would venture to guess I was guzzling anywhere between 16-24 ounces of java per hour, from about 9:00 PM until 6:00 AM...and guess what, I read that entire book, which was probably about 250 pages in length. Not only did I read it, but I absorbed it like a sponge. My overcharged, caffeine-saturated brain devoured that book like it was the most fascinating tome ever written by humankind.

My political science final exam was early the next morning (7:30? 8:00? I can't remember the exact time anymore). The bad part was that by the time the final started, my caffeine buzz was wearing off and I was feeling myself get very tired. I was fighting to keep my eyes open, and at one point in the final felt myself falling asleep at my desk. I must have made some strange noise because a girl looked over at me with a look equal parts concern and horror. Thankfully, I managed to stay awake through the entire final and I'll be damned if that professor didn't tell us the exact truth. At least 80 percent of that final exam was taken from Change and Continuity in the 1984 Elections.

It was with a tremendous feeling of relief that I stumbled back to Shaw Hall from my poli sci final. It was my last final of the term, and I had only to wait for my mom to come and pick me up from school and take me home to Caro for spring break. Unfortunately, by this point I was beginning to experience the onset of one of the most awful headaches I've ever had from lack of sleep and far too much caffeine.

Now one might think that this headache would turn me off to coffee. Actually, I felt as though coffee had helped to save my ass, and that's when I decided that coffee was a pretty damned good thing. I ended up with a 4.0 on my final exam (in the MSU grading system, equivalent to an A) and received a 3.5 in the class.
It wasn't until I worked at Schuler Books in the 1990s that I developed any real taste for fine coffee, and over the years I've become a genuine coffee snob. I absolutely refuse to drink the dreck that is our office coffee at work, and generally stop at Biggby or Starbucks while on my way to work each and every morning. (I don't like the way my homebrewed coffee tasted in travel mugs, so I'd rather buy it at a coffee shop). My preferred drinks of choice these days are Americanos and red eyes. An Americano is two or more shots of espresso combined with hot water (or cold water if one prefers it iced). Red eyes are two or more shots of espresso combined with coffee. During the summer, I ONLY drink iced coffee. Beginning around the second week of September, I switch over to hot coffee. It's amazing (and a little unsettling) to me how quickly I decided that it's time to switch from iced to hot coffee in the Fall, and from hot to iced coffee in the late Spring.

My wife is also a huge coffee drinker and a coffee snob on par with myself. I joke that we are enablers and co-dependent, because we constantly suggest trips to Biggby to get coffee. It doesn't help that we are always filling up our frequency cards, and that Biggby sends us coffee junkies email coupons that we naturally feel compelled to use. Did I mention that we have a Biggby Coffee that is within 5 minutes walking distance from our house?

Well, that's my coffee addiction story. I suppose that there are far worse vices one could have, so I'll be quite content to stick with coffee.

Labor Day weekend (a few weeks late posting this)

2011-09-24T23:26:00.000-04:00

Friday night I watched the first MSU football game while putting together the foosball table my eldest son received for his birthday. (Above is a picture of yours truly, Captain Cueball, and the son taking a break during a heated foosball battle). This continues a longstanding tradition of mine of watching the first weekend of the college football season whilst assembling a birthday present--since my son's birthday is on September 2. For the rest of my life, the beginning of football and my son's birthday will be inextricably linked.

That's not a bad thing, since this is my favorite time of the year. I love the end of summer and the beginning of fall. The overlap of football and baseball seasons is also wonderful, and especially this year with the promise of my team, the Detroit Tigers, making the postseason.

I can recall how much I hated the Labor Day weekend when I was a kid. For me, Labor Day only meant that the next day I'd have to go to school. I remember the butterflies in the pit of my stomach, full of anxiety over the impending school year. Of course, by the time I got to college, when Labor Day arrived I was practically dying to go back to school.

But thinking back to those grade school/high school days, and since America seems to have such a disdain for labor these days, perhaps we should simply change the name of the holiday to School Anxiety Day.

9/11 anniversary (and aftermath)

2011-09-24T23:15:00.000-04:00

I don't have anything pithy, remarkable, or original to say about the 9/11 anniversary. It was a sad, strange, surreal, and scary day. I remember that my oldest son was nine days old and I was on a "paternity leave" and staying at home with my wife. We had a small TV in our bedroom and I groggily awoke to her watching it and saying that a plane had hit the World Trade Center. The rest of the day is a bit of a blur to me. I do recall driving to Ypsilanti with the thought that classes somehow hadn't been canceled at Eastern Michigan. (I'd called in the morning and someone, probably a clueless undergrad, had said that classes were still on. Instead of calling again in the afternoon, I simply got in the car and drove to Ypsilanti. I think deep down I knew that classes were cancelled, I just needed the catharsis of a long drive). I'll never forget that drive to EMU (and discovering the empty commuter parking lot and that, yes--of course, classes had been called off) and the subsequent drive back to Lansing. I've never seen I-96 and US-23 as quiet and barren as that day. The sky was bright and sunny, mocking the horror of the day, and I drove home listening to the sports talk radio station--which had switched over to a sounding board for the confused and angry listeners to vent their feelings. In the days and months after 9/11, I wondered what kind of world my son was going to grow up in. It didn't seem promising.

I'd like to say that ten years later the world seems better, but it doesn't. We have fought a war in Iraq under false pretenses, and who knows how or when the U.S. will ever get out of Afghanistan. All of the international goodwill our country received 9/11 has essentially disappeared. Meanwhile, our economy is in ruins and partisan bickering is as bad as I can ever remember it. And you wonder why I talk about sports so much in this blog!? I need some escapism.

Farewell, R.E.M. (and some other things on my mind)

2011-09-24T22:59:00.000-04:00

Yesterday, R.E.M quietly announced, via their website, that they were officially breaking up. I feel a bit wistful about this: I know it's time (and maybe has BEEN time for several years) but it feels like a part of my youth and young adulthood has "died". I'm feeling a little bit melancholy, though I'm happy that they can at least call it quits on a creative and critical upswing. Their last two albums (Accelerate and Collapse Into Now) were quite good. Anyway, R.E.M left the scene the same way they spent their time in the scene: with grace and understatement. Godspeed, R.E.M. You were part of the soundtrack of my life.

Also yesterday, in news that is quite a bit more important than R.E.M.'s breakup, Troy Davis was executed in Georgia. I have to admit that I had no idea who he was until recently, when the controversy over his murder conviction and impending execution became front page news. After reading about this case, it seems quite obvious that there was extreme doubt concerning his guilt--in fact it seems like a complete miscarriage of justice. I have heard of way too many examples of people who have been given the death penalty when there was flimsy or questionable evidence regarding their guilt. Two prominent examples that come to mind immediately are the West Memphis Three and Randall Adams (whose case was presented in the outstanding documentary, The Thin Blue Line). Thankfully, the West Memphis Three and Randall Adams were spared. In any case, one life lost to the death penalty because of a faulty conviction is one life too many. The death penalty needs to be abolished.

And now for something completely different. I'm astounded that my post featuring Ron Swanson's speech (from Parks and Recreation) has garnered 950 views, based on Blogger's statistics. I'm sure those people were then disappointed to see how boring the rest of my blog is!

Those Amazing Detroit Tigers

2011-09-14T17:37:00.001-04:00

Remember that "glass is half empty" comment that I made about the Detroit Tigers last week? Wow, was I wrong! What this team has accomplished the last few weeks, and particularly during this 12-game winning streak they just added to moments ago, is nothing short of amazing.

I wrote in a Facebook post that I haven't had this much fun watching baseball since 1984 (although the Tigers' charge to the division title in 1987 was fun, as was their improbable American League pennant win in '06).

This team doesn't quit. Today's win over Chicago was a perfect case in point. Down the entire game, they calmly tied it up in the ninth on Ryan Raburn's solo homer and Alex Avila's clutch 2-run blast. When the Sox threatened in the bottom of the ninth with the mercury-quick Juan Pierre dancing off third base with only one out, naturally these magical Tigers got A.J. Pierzynski to ground into an inning ending double play. Not even Ramon Santiago momentarily bobbling Pierzynski's hot grounder was enough to prevent the Tigers pulling off another Houdini escape act. Pierzynski, in sheer frustration, punished his batting helmet with a few angry kicks--which seemed to encapsulate the entire disappointing Chicago White Sox season.

Okay, at this moment I need to point out that, officially, the Tigers have neither clinched the AL Central nor clinched a playoff spot, though with the "magic number" currently at 4(ish), it would take divine intervention for either the Sox or Indians to overtake them, and with the way the Tigers are crushing everyone in their wake, and the fashion in which the Sox and Indians are fading, let's face it folks, it ain't gonna happen. The Tigers are going to win the AL Central, probably in the next day or so.

So how are the Tigers doing it? Obviously they have lots of great star players--and plenty of role players who are contributing. Justin Verlander is going to win the AL Cy Young Award with the incredible season he's having, Miguel Cabrera is his usual excellent self, and others like Alex Avila, Victor Martinez, Jhonny Peralta, and (the injured and out for the rest of the season) Brennan Boesch all have had great years at the plate. Ramon Santiago has established himself as the man at second base, and though he still strikes out too much, Austin Jackson is one of the best defensive centerfielders in the game.

At this point, I'd like to tip my hat to the overly criticized GM Dave Dombrowski and manager Jim Leyland. Yes, Dombrowski has made some questionable to bad moves in the past, but this year he gets all A's for the masterful deals he made. Picking up Wilson Betemit, Delmon Young, and Doug Fister--genius moves. Leyland has been taking heat all season, mainly from certain local sports talk hosts who shall remain nameless. Funny how this criticism has waned in the last few weeks. It's true that some of Leyland's managerial decisions are head scratchers (i.e. not starting Verlander in the pivotal August series against Cleveland--Tigers swept the Indians so it didn't matter, and sitting certain star players at seemingly odd times). Leyland deserves credit for wisely preserving his players to make this incredible September push, and the role players have enough gametime experience to allow them to make major contributions down the stretch.

The third time I've tried to post this. UGH!!!

2011-09-02T20:00:00.000-04:00

I have tried twice to post an entry about the Fall football season, only to notice that Blogger had updated its interface and wasn't allowing me to post anything the old way. AAAARRRRGGGHHH!!!!!

Okay, here's an even more brief overview of what I was going to write. Fall is upon us and its time for college football and baseball pennant races. I remain glass is half empty regarding the chances of the MSU Spartan football team, the Detroit Lions, and the Detroit Tigers.

Post script: Could I have possibly been any more WRONG about the Tigers. Wow, what a finish to the regular season! And the Detroit Lions--they are off to a great start in the regular season and may yet make a believer out of me. As for the MSU Spartan football team--the jury is still out.

I'm back with a post to let you know that I'm not dead

2011-07-29T23:44:00.008-04:00

Hi, Im still alive and checking in. I can't give a legitimate reason for my absence. I suppose it has to do, mainly, with the fact that it's summer and there is not too much going on that interest me enough to write about it. Oh, and when I am on the computer, I'm wasting most of my time on Facebook. Damned Facebook, it should change its name to "internet crack".

So what's been going on since May, you ask? Well, on June 26 I saw U2 at Spartan Stadium in East Lansing. The concert was originally scheduled for May 2010, but the band was forced to postpone the show due to Bono severely injuring his back. (Yeah, all that "saving the world" stuff takes a physical toll). Anyway, U2 were amazing, brilliant, fantastic. I saw them back in April '87 at the Pontiac Silverdome and it was the most mesmerizing concert experience I'd ever had. I thought there was no way it could ever be topped, but I think U2 actually were better this time around. And I can't say I was excessively geeked for the show beforehand. Out of a sense of duty, I've bought every U2 studio album since The Joshua Tree, but was underwhelmed by their latest offering No Line on the Horizon. As the concert drew nearer, I was happy to being seeing them, but not necessarily expecting an amazing experience. Well, it WAS an amazing experience. Was it just a tad huge and over-the-top? Sure. Did the guys in the band appear to be the size of ants from our nosebleed seats? Of course (though the wraparound 360 megascreen was helpful). Did the concert thoroughly kick ass? Hell yeah! From the opening salvo of Achtung Baby tunes, to astronaut Mark (Mr. Gabby Giffords) Kelly's big screen introduction of "Beautiful Day" (wherein he quoted David Bowie's "Space Oddity": "Tell my wife I miss her very, very much"), and Bono marveling at the beauty of Michigan and MSU's campus ("Edge wants to buy a cottage on Lake Michigan"--which elicited huge applause from the crowd), it was a great evening.

Since the U2 show, I've been listening to them fairly regularly since. I picked up one of their compilations that I didn't already own, The Best of 1990-2000, and have been catching up on some of their more obscure tunes that I hadn't heard before, like the wonderful "Electrical Storm", "Miss Sarajevo", and "Lady with the Spinning Head". (I love the bonus disc with the b-sides, many of which are brilliant, particularly the remixes).

To top things off, I scored a big collection of mint condition Joshua Tree/Rattle and Hum 12" singles from the library "Book Burrow". Not that I really needed them, mind you. But nice to add to the collection.

Other than that, the summer has been defined by the heat and humidity, and we've had more than our share of that so far. I'm definitely not a hot weather aficianado, and find myself yearning for the mild temperatures of autumn.

Pedro Pratt, baseball pitcher extraordinaire. "The Colored Wonder" of Portland, Michigan

2011-05-26T20:56:00.009-04:00

Pedro Pratt, kneeling (3rd from right), ca. 1890.

Six years ago, I wrote a book, through Arcadia Publishing's Images of America series, entitled The Portland Area 1868-1939. It’s a photographic history of Portland, Michigan. (Amazingly, it is still in print and available where all fine books are sold). I’m not mentioning this to toot my own horn, but merely to set the scene for what’s to follow here.

In my research, I came across a huge cast of characters that shaped Portland’s history in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, (and lots of information that never made it into the book). None of these characters were more interesting or enigmatic than a local baseball star named Pedro Pratt. Through the whole process of writing the book, his existence proved to be shadowy and fascinating: a guy who flitted in and out of the picture with a legend that reminds me of the blues singer Robert Johnson. (I don’t even know for sure what his real first name was--I’m fairly certain Pedro was just a nickname).

Before I go any further, I should explain that in the 19th century and into the early part of the 20th century, local baseball teams were a big deal. You have to remember that we’re talking about the days before television, before radio, and when such entertainment devices such as gramophones and telephones either hadn’t yet been invented or (when they HAD been invented and were available to the general public) were considered luxury items, much too expensive for the common person. The main sources of entertainment were the local opera house (later replaced by moving pictures) and the Sunday afternoon baseball games. Portland, along with many other small Michigan communities, had its own team that, on warm summer Sundays, drew hundreds of fans to Goodwin Park to watch the action. These games weren’t relaxed and leisurely either, they were highly competitive, no-holds-barred battles for community pride.

Now back to our subject: Pedro Pratt was an African-American in a community with an extremely small, but unusually visible and fairly prominent (for its size) African-American presence (which I discovered was rarely mentioned in any previous history written about Portland). In my research, I found only one photo of Pratt (located in the Portland Historical Society’s collection), and it appears in the book. It’s a school photograph from the late 1880s or early 1890s that, coincidentally, also features a young Clarence Budington Kelland, who went on to become a famous novelist and short-story writer , but whose works are now almost completely forgotten.

The photo itself features only boys, and they are all dressed in matching costumes, as if for some sort of musical or dramatic performance. While most of the other boys are posed either lounging languidly on the floor or, in the case of the older and taller boys, standing in back with arms crossed or leaning affectionately on each other, Pedro is kneeling by himself bolt upright, his serious young face, under a halo of dark curly hair, staring directly at the camera. Pedro is sitting amongst his classmates, but seems completely separate from them. Am I reading too much into a photograph? Possibly… but I definitely believe there could be some truth to Pedro’s “otherness” and perhaps some alienation from his fellow, lighter-skinned, classmates.

As near as I can tell, and I don’t yet have conclusive proof, Pedro Pratt was the son of Angeline Pratt. In the 1900 Federal Census, Angeline wass listed as a 43 year-old single mother, and earned her living as a laundress. She had four sons: 21 year-old Walter (whom I suspect may be Pedro), Don (age 16--he may also be Pedro—but probably too young), Theodore (13), and Lawrence (10). I’m fairly certain she also had a daughter named Maud who may have married and moved out of the house by 1900. (If all of this seems a little sketchy, that’s because it is. One of my future projects is to really dig in deep to the Pratt family and solve these mysteries).

So why should anyone care about Pedro Pratt? What is so interesting about him? Why am I obsessed? It’s because the guy was a tremendous local baseball talent, and was the only dark face on otherwise all-white teams in the first two decades of the twentieth century. This was the era when the “Gentlemen’s Agreement” was in full force, barring blacks from playing baseball alongside whites, and several decades before Jackie Robinson broke the Major League color barrier in 1947. It’s possible that semi-pro ball and a few minor leagues may have been a bit more lenient about the policy, but even so, this was a time of rampant segregation and racism, so it’s still remarkable that Pedro Pratt was allowed to play at all. Of course, it didn’t hurt that Pratt was an exceptional talent—at least at the local level.

In the course of my research for the Portland book, I only found a few photos of Portland baseball teams--none of which included Pratt. The Portland City Hall, however, had an oversized reproduction of a Portland baseball team photo (one of those old-fashioned kinds with individual portraits of the players arranged in a group), and that did feature Pratt. It was on loan from someone in the community, and I can’t remember why I didn’t try to contact this person to scan the original (maybe too frazzled at that point to bother). Anyway, with the amount of research I had to conduct in such a brief period of time, I couldn’t focus too much on Portland baseball. I delved into only a few seasons, but what I found was good stuff--and I’ve got a serious itch to dig deeper soon.

I looked at the 1910, 1911, and 1913 baseball seasons of the Portland city team (because the photos I found for the book were taken in those respective years)—not in any great detail, since as I said I didn’t have a lot of time to spend on them—but enough for some good stories. When I resume my research of Pratt’s baseball career, I’ll have to go back a bit more because Pedro began playing organized ball as early as ca. 1904.

The 1910 season began with manager Chester Divine lamenting his team’s lack of pitching depth, though Portland opened up its slate with a 10-1 victory over the REO squad. The May 24th Portland Observer announced that Divine “had the dragnet out” for Pratt and had located “the Colored Wonder” playing “star ball” [I’m still not sure what “star ball” was] in Indiana. Pratt agreed to come north to play for Portland and made his season debut against the Oldsmobiles on May 29, a game Portland lost 4-2. The season got better for Pratt, because he had three consecutive shutout pitching performances and Portland’s season record was (approximately) 13-5. (This final record is based on the game results that I was able to conclusively document).

One of Pedro Pratt’s best individual all-around performances occurred the following season. In May 1911, Pratt and Portland beat the Oldsmobile squad 15-3. Pedro was outstanding as both a pitcher and hitter in that game. He struck out seven batters and did damage with his bat, going 4 for 5, scoring 3 runs.

In a June 1911 practice session, Pratt accidentally lost control of his bat and it hit Chester Divine in the head. Though Divine was not seriously injured, it did end his baseball career.

In 1913, the curve balling (and occasionally spit balling) Pratt threw an opening day shutout against Pewamo. Later in the season, Pedro struck out an astounding 13 batter in 5 innings en route to a 13-4 thumping of Lowell.

After this, Pratt’s live is a mystery. I didn’t delve any further into his baseball career, and I still have no idea what became of him. I have found no obituaries, and no record of where he is buried. He remains largely a mystery to me, but his ghostly presence re-enters my consciousness from time to time and is especially present right now. If I can find the time this summer, and maintain my current level of ambition, I may yet solve the mystery of Pedro Pratt.

Josh Wilker's Cardboard Gods (and my own cardboard gods)

2011-05-14T16:12:00.025-04:00

I'm always a little disappointed when I see a great idea that someone else has thought of and wish that I had thought of it first. Of course, when that idea is done better than I could ever imagine myself doing it, I don't mind nearly as much.

That's the case with a book called Cardboard Gods by Josh Wilker, which is an offshoot and extension of his wonderful website of the same name, cardboardgods.net. Wilker posts images of old baseball cards (ca. 1974-1981) from his childhood collection and uses them as a springboard for deeper, and quite often hilarious, meditations on his own childhood and life. He's an excellent writer, and has an extraordinary eye and ear for nuance and detail. What could be painful-to-read naval-gazing in less skillful hands comes off as humorous and moving portraits of a 40-something guy trying to make sense of his life, past and present.

Wilker is about my age--from what I gather in the book I'd guess he was born in 1968 (same year as yours truly)--and grew up with a hippyish, back-to-the-land mother (and her equally bohemian boyfriend) in a rather rednecky area of rural Vermont. As a nerd and outcast in the community, he took refuge in baseball and his collection of "cardboard gods" and, when his older brother chose to ignore his presence, entertained himself with Strat-o-Matic baseball and other imaginary games. I was struck by the parallels between my life and Wilker's. Though my parents weren't hippies like Wilker's, I too moved to a rural small town and felt like I was, if not an outcast, a definite oddball who would never fit in. Like Wilker, I took refuge in baseball cards, comic books, and my own imaginary baseball and football teams.

Wilker started collecting baseball cards in 1974. Coincidentally, that's the year I bought my first pack of baseball cards (though it'd be more accurate to say my mom bought me my first pack of baseball cards). I distinctly remember the scene: my family was in the Upper Peninsula visiting my aunt, uncle, and cousins--this would have been autumn '74. The specific details of the purchase are hazier, but I must have been in a grocery or convenience store with my mom (my aunt, uncle and cousins may have been there too for all I know) and I asked my mom to buy a pack of cards for me. Since I was six years old and didn't even like or know much of anything about baseball at the time, it perplexes me as to why I wanted the cards. Perhaps it was just wanting something or anything from our shopping excursion, and settling for the cheapest item in the store. In any case, the only card that survived from this pack, and one that I amazingly still have in my possession, is the 1974 Topps #18 Gary Thomasson that you see at the top of this entry. (I should admit that the image in this blog post is not one of the actual card in my possession, but a jpeg I found on the internet).

Compared to Josh Wilker, I was a little late when it came to baseball fandom. The first time I played organized baseball was probably the summer of '74 or '75 (can't remember for sure) when my mom and the mom of my friend Claud "Scooter" Staples signed us up to a pee-wee league through Detroit Parks and Recreation. When I look back on it now, it's my belief that my mom and Scooter's mom thought that, as boys, baseball must be in our DNA, so we'd instinctually know how to play. The truth was that we were both utterly clueless. Neither of us could catch the ball and were not any better at throwing it. I remember going up to bat, actually making contact, but running to the pitcher rather than first base. I'm pretty sure that was the only game we participated in that summer. It was an inauspicious debut for me as a baseball player.

From 1975-1977, I collected a few more baseball cards, but living in Detroit I couldn't just walk up by myself to the neighborhood store to buy packs. 1976 was the year I truly became a baseball fan. It was the summer of Mark "The Bird" Fidrych, and the entire city of Detroit was in love with the charismatic, floppy-haired goofball who brought an enthusiasm to baseball that hadn't been seen in those parts since the '68 Tigers won the World Series. Just about every kid on the 14100 block of Artesian in northwest Detroit was baseball mad that summer, and I was not immune. That was the summer that I finally learned to catch a baseball with proficiency, and attended my second game at Tiger Stadium (but this '76 game against the Indians was the first one I can remember in any detail--I had gone to a night game at The Corner a year or two earlier with my friend Steven, but all I remember are big, tall grownups blocking my view the entire time).

I didn't start collecting baseball cards in earnest until 1978, when I went to spend two weeks with the beforementioned aunt, uncle, and cousins in the tiny town of Baraga, Michigan. By this time, I was a true baseball fan and devotee of the Detroit Tigers. My aunt and uncle owned and operated a flower shop on Baraga's main street, Superior Avenue, a short walk from the local grocery store, Larry's Market. I enjoyed spending the afternoon at the flower shop, walking down to Larry's Market, buying packs of cards with the spending money my parents had sent with me (probably not with the intention that I'd blow it all on baseball cards), and walking back to the shop to peruse my newest treasures. For reasons unbeknownst to me, the cards I bought in Baraga were way better than the ones I acquired in Detroit. I obtained many of my favorite Tiger players, along with stars such as Pete Rose, Rod Carew, Reggie Jackson, and George Foster, to name a few.

In 1979, my family moved from Detroit to the village of Caro, up in Michigan's "Thumb" region, a town surrounded on all sides by farms and cornfields. Like Josh Wilker, I felt like a misfit. The contrast couldn't possibly have been more extreme between the multicultural urban sprawl of Detroit and the very white, very rural Caro. I'd had a somewhat promising baseball/softball "career" going in Detroit, but it quickly wilted when I moved to Caro. Was it lack of confidence? Probably. Worsening eyesight that was undiagnosed until I was 16? That probably contributed also. The fact that I was a bit of a nerd? Yes. By age 13, I'd retired from organized baseball--not to return until 1995 when I made a modestly triumphant return to organized sports, at age 27, with the Peanut Barrel Bar softball team.

Despite my lack of success on the field, my love for baseball never waned, and I also continued collecting baseball cards.

Josh Wilker gave up baseball card collecting in 1981. I continued collecting, with varying degrees of ferver, until 1985. I even ventured into the realm of vintage cards of the '50s and '60s, haunting the Caro Coin Shop after school in the early '80s to buy cards of players of baseball's "Golden Age" prior to my birth. This heralded the full flowering of my geekitude. While other boys my age were chatting up girls after school or actually playing sports, I was perched in the coin shop, breathing in proprietor Mr. Marchlewicz's cigarette smoke, pouring over whatever new "cardboard gods" he'd added to his inventory. I'll always be indebted to Mr. Marchlewicz's patience. He could have thrown my nerdy teenage ass out of there, but I must have been well-behaved and respectful enough that he took pity on me.

In the summer of 1984, with the Tigers cruising towards the world championships, and aided by summer jobs babysitting and mowing lawns, I managed to complete my one and only set of Topps baseball cards. I nearly repeated this feat in '85, finishing about 50 cards short. I went as far as writing a list of all the cards I needed to complete the set, but lost interest and never achieved the goal.

By the summer of '86, my collecting gears switched from baseball cards to records (and later, CDs and books). I still occasionally bought cards for old times' sake, and to relive the temporary state of euphoria, which Josh Wilker describes so eloquently, when one first opens that pack of cards to see the treasures within the wax paper.

Fast forward twenty years: In 2006, my wife and I were experiencing some fairly extreme financial difficulty. It was so rough that my wife actually made the supreme sacrifice and sold some of her beloved antique Blenko glass. I didn't want her to be the only one to give up valuable possessions to help pay the bills, so I took some of my choice baseball memorabilia to various dealers in the Lansing area. I knew full well that dealers wouldn't give me the best prices, but I didn't have the time to try and sell the stuff on eBay. I needed money NOW. Baseball card dealers in the towns of Mason and Portland took some of my cards in exchange for rather paltry cash. At the time, I didn't care. I needed the money. It still pains me to think of the items I sold (thankfully only a fraction of my most prized memorabilia), and occassionally I conjure up fantasies of revisiting these dealers to buy back what in my mind is rightfully mine. However, deep down inside, I know that like the '85 Topps set that was never completed, my dreams of reacquiring those lost treasures will more than likely never happen.

At least I can be secure in the knowledge that 37 years later, '74 Gary Thomasson and I are somehow still together.

Ron Swanson's hilarious "Visions of Nature" speech

2011-04-29T08:19:00.001-04:00

The funniest speech I’ve heard in quite awhile. Ron Swanson’s "Visions of Nature" art show grand opening speech from Parks and Recreation. Worth quoting in its entirety:

"Ok, everyone, shut up and look at me. Welcome to Visions of Nature. This room has several paintings in it. Some are big and some are small. People did them and they are here now. I believe that after this is over they will be hung in government buildings. Why the government is involved in an art show is beyond me. I also think it's pointless for a human to paint scenes of nature when they could just go outside and stand in it. Anyway, please do not misinterpret the fact that I am talking right now as genuine interest in art and attempt to discuss it with me further. End of speech."

Hey everyone, I'm still here!

2011-04-10T22:54:00.004-04:00

Here's an update: I'm currently slaving away on a blog entry regarding R.E.M.'s new album, and their relevency (or lack thereof, depending on your point of view) in today's music world. I'm probably spending more time on the post than is necessary, since only about two or three people will read it, but I want it to be well thought out and coherent (unlike some of the stuff I foist on you people). Anyway, by the time I publish the darned thing, R.E.M. will have released their NEXT album.

It was a ridiculously warm day in mid-Michigan today, with temperatures reaching the 80s. I, however, spent the afternoon working at the library, though I was able to take a walk this evening. Our house is just down the street from a Biggby Coffee shop (though my wife and I insist on referring to them as "Beaners'", their old name that was deemed politically incorrect a few years ago--I had no idea it was a derogatory name for Mexicans), and got some iced coffees (and a couple of sweet iced drinks for the kids--who of course decided that they didn't like them and didn't finish them. Ugh!).

Our 1997 Volvo 850 (232,000 miles on it), which was on life-support and about to die, was finally laid to rest in automotive heaven yesterday. We traded it in for $300 and bought a 2007 Chevy Uplander minivan. We finally have two nice rides in the garage at the same time--but more debt. Ain't that the American Way, though?

Back to coffee for a moment. I've decided that I'm addicted to Tim Horton's regular plain old coffee brew, and since there is a Tim Horton's not far from the South Lansing library, I stop there quite often. Just today, I learned of an urban legend that claims Tim Horton's coffee literally addictive because it contains nicotine. Tests were done debunking this rumor. Whatever they do to the coffee (I know that they brew it fresh every 20 minutes) it works for me and I love the stuff.

The new biography of Malcolm X, Malcolm X: a Life of Reinvention, had not one, but two NPR programs devoted to it last week (Talk of the Nation and On Point, if you're interested). The author, Manning Marable, spent 20 years researching the book (which apparently is full of new information and revelations about Malcolm) but unfortunately died a few days before the book's publication. I ordered the book from Amazon (I rarely order books from Amazon, but [1] I really want to read this book, [2] I know I won't be able to read it in the three weeks alotted by the library, [3] want to add the book to my collection and [4] couldn't pass up the $16.00 price Amazon offered).

Right now, I'm reading a book called Hellhound on His Trail, about the manhunt for James Earl Ray. I'd been intrigued by the book since it was published (a year ago? Two years ago? Can't remember). So far, so good. I rarely find much time to read anything buy juvenile literature these days, so it may take me a month to get through it.

Well, that's about all I have for now. I'll try and not be a stranger--but I'm not making any promises.

R.E.M. "Collapse Into Now"

2011-03-26T15:25:00.011-04:00

Back in the summer of 1986, I saw a strange little music video on MTV (back when MTV still played music videos--remember those days?). The entire clip was comprised of a black & white overhead shot of some sort of industrial site, perhaps a disused railyard or rock quarry. The song lyrics were superimposed in giant block letters in the middle of the screen. Prior to the lyrics' appearance were these cryptic lines, "Bury magnets, swallow the rapture, let's gather feathers," which undoubtedly left me scratching my young head The song, entitled "Fall on Me" was a somber, yet oddly catchy tune with a ringing Rickenbacker guitar sound. I was instantly hooked and haven't looked back since. (Okay, 2004's Around the Sun was an awful album, but I digress). For the most part, I've been on R.E.M.'s side for 25 years.

Back in 1986, I never would have thought that 25 years later I'd be talking about a new R.E.M. album. But the "boys" (who are all now AARP-eligible) just released their 15th studio album, Collapse into Now.

With every album that R.E.M. have released since Bill Berry left back in 1997, the inevitable questions are variatons of the following: "Are they any good anymore?" , "Should they just give it up?", or "Does the new album have any redeeming quality whatsoever?" (Of course, there are plenty of hipsters out there who insist the band sold out after their debut album Murmur, but that's another story).

Count me in as someone who’s happy these guys are still around and making music, and YES, the new album, Collapse into Now is good. Maybe not great, but a solid effort that may be the band's best release since at least 1996's New Adventures in Hi-Fi.

Now, back to the issue of whether R.E.M. is still relevent. I often hear people say, "I used to like them, but they just aren't the same anymore" or "I haven't liked anything since [name-any-R.E.M.-album-released-in-the-1980s]." These folks are entitled to their opinions, though I don't happen to agree with them. (I, for one, haven't been interested in anything Sonic Youth has done since 1992, but I'm sure there are plenty out there who think Rather Ripped or The Eternal are incredible and that I'm missing out on 19 years of great music).

I'm not going to argue that R.E.M.'s post-Berry output is as good as the pre-Berry stuff, but with the exception of the putrid, fetid turd that was Around the Sun, they've come out with some consistently decent material that hasn't tarnished their name. I agree that the mystique the band cultivated in the '80s is gone (which was inevitable), and I lament the end of the the impressionistic, and sometimes downright indecipherable, lyrics that Stipe penned in those days. I do agree with the R.E.M. critics who believe Stipe has become excessively preachy with his recent songs.

Yes, R.E.M. have changed, but so have we as fans. They aren't the same band they were then, in fact they may not even be the same people they were then (growing older will do that to you), but I'm not the same (relatively) innocent 18 year-old I was when I discovered the band 25 years ago. Back in the '80s, the guys in R.E.M., still in their twenties, were in decidedly pre-millionaire status. They were schlepping from town to town in a van (and probably by about '85 had graduated to a bus) playing relatively small venues. (Peter Buck has gleefully gone on at length about some the early gigs where they played in some podunk town in front of about five disinterested drunks). Most of their fans (including yours truly) were about the same age or younger, with the wide-eyed wonder that comes with youth. That exciting empty slate that comes with youth slowly disappears as one ages.

R.E.M. are middle-aged millionaires who now live miles apart from each other. For all intents and purposes, they no longer exist as a "band", more as a "project" that reconvenes every three years or so to record a new album.

As a fan since my late teens, I feel this weird sense of obligation to buy every new album they release, despite the diminishing returns. I'm happy to report that Collapse into Now maintains the modest upswing that began with Accelerate, but even so, after a few listenings it's hard not to get a sense that they're going through the motions. They seem to feel the same sense of obligation to record a new album that I have to buy whatever they put out there.

If you haven't guessed it already, I'm a little ambivalent about this new album.

Overall, Collapse into Now is a solid album, and proof that the band can still play well and write catchy tunes when the inspiration strikes them, but the sense of adventure that existed on previous albums is largely gone. I don't know whether that's a product of being bored middle-aged millionaires just going through the motions, or a band--still smarting a bit over the disaster of Around the Sun--playing it a little safe and recording an "R.E.M.-sounding album" with songs that make sonic references to various points in their career.

I initially thought that I'd write a blow-by-blow track analysis of this album, but I'm not going to bother. I've slaved over this stupid post for too long and by the time I finally publish it, there really won't be any point.

I guess I'll just finish by saying that Collapse into Now is the best we can reasonably expect from R.E.M. in the year 2011, and we just need to live with it.

My longtime Simon & Garfunkel fandom is re-awoken (thanks, Honda Accord commercials)

2011-03-20T19:27:00.012-04:00

It started innocently enough: I was watching television one day when a Honda Accord car commercial came on. The background music was of a song I knew very well, a song I had first heard when I was about 13 years old and had grown to love more and more over the ensuing 30 years. The ad only featured the last part of the song: the vocalists’ multi-tracked voices singing, “Aaaaaaahhhh-aaahhh-aaahhh-aaahhhhhhh, heeeeere, I ammmm.” The song is “The Only Living Boy in New York” and the singers in question are Simon & Garfunkel, and hearing that song in that commercial soon led me to dig out my old Bridge Over Troubled Water CD, an album I hadn’t listened to in…well, I can’t remember how long. It has been a few years at least.

Not too long after digging out BOTW, I learned of a soon-to-be-released 40th anniversary edition of the album, containing the remastered music (actually, probably just a repackaged version of the 2001 remaster) plus a bonus DVD with S&G's infamous and very obscure 1969 television special, Songs for America , AND a brand-new "making of the album" documentary, The Harmony Game, featuring new interviews with Paul, Artie, Roy Halee (plus some of the surviving musicians who played on BOTW, famed Wrecking Crew drummer Hal Blaine and bassist extraordinaire Joe Osborn. I knew right away that I would have to snag it--and I did. At $18.01 (including tax) it was worth every penny. Oh year, in my newly rediscovered Simon & Garfunkel frenzy, I finally picked up the 2001 CD remaster of Sounds of Silence, and the soon-to-be-deleted Warner remasters of Paul Simon's solo albums Hearts and Bones and Graceland.

As I mentioned, I first became interested in Simon & Garfunkel at age 13, back in 1981(or early '82), when I saw their reunion "Concert in Central Park" on HBO. I fell in love with their music right away, and was mesmerized by Art Garfunkel's halo of reddish-blonde frizzy hair. I'd love to be really cool and say that Led Zeppelin or The Kinks were the first 1960s/1970s era group with which I became obsessed, but I have to admit it was Simon & Garfunkel, the two relatively clean-cut folkies from Queens. I don't know how many times I re-watched "Concert in Central Park", but it had to have been close to a half-dozen viewings. My parents had two S&G albums, Parsley, Sage, Rosemary, & Thyme and Bridge Over Troubled Water. I distinctly remember listening to those records alone on the old Motorola console stereo. I was alternately haunted and mesmerized by such tunes as "The Boxer", "7 O'clock News/Silent Night", "For Emily, Whenever I May Find Her", and "Scarborough Fair/Canticle" (to name just a few from those two great albums). When The Concert in Central Park album was released in February 1982, I made a beeline to Camelot Music, in Saginaw's Fashion Square Mall to buy my copy of the album. (Thankfully, I didn't have to wait four days to hitchhike from Saginaw, my parents drove me home). It was a double-album, so it was quite a financial investment for a 13 year-old. My mom insisted that we already possessed a couple Simon & Garfunkel albums that already contained many of the songs from the concert, so purchasing the Central Park album was unnecessary. I wasn't having any of that, though--I simply had to have that album.

I remember bringing that album home and immediately playing it on my crappy little record player in my bedroom, pouring over the lyrics in the booklet and gazing at the various photos of S&G, from different periods of their partnership--from the squeeky clean "Tom and Jerry" days of the late '50s to an awkward mid-'70s photo of the two standing uncomfortably side-by-side in front of Paul Simon's boyhood home in Queens. (I haven't listened to my copy of The Concert in Central Park in many years. The last time I heard the album was when someone played it several years ago at Schuler Books & Music, and it seemed a little bit limp to me.

Over the next few years, I bought the rest of the S&G discography (not too difficult to obtain since the duo only released five studio albums). As I've gotten older, my devotion to Simon & Garfunkel has ebbed and flowed. There were times in college and in my twenties when S&G didn't seem terribly cool, and other more hip and stylish music took precedent, but I always managed to return to Paul and Artie.

Lately, I've grown to truly appreciate how incredibly well-crafted their albums were. Paul Simon may not have been particularly prolific as a songwriter (and, in fact, may have set the record for writing the most songs that make reference to writer's block) but what he did create was almost always good-to-great). "The Harmony Game" (making of Bridge Over Troubled Water) documentary sheds considerable light on what master craftsman Simon, Garfunkel, and producer Roy Halee were in the studio. First of all, they worked with excellent studio musicians throughout their career--(one thing I've noticed while revisiting the S&G catalog is how impeccable the musicianship is throughout)--but this reached a pinnacle on BOTW. From Larry Knechtel's brilliant piano playing on the title song, to Joe Osborn's amazing, melodic bass work on "The Only Living Boy in New York" (a sound created by an 8-string bass), and Fred Carter, Jr's acoustic finger-picking on "The Boxer", the playing on this album is amazing, yet understated.

Simon, Garfunkel, and Halee's use of innovative recording techniques rivals that of The Beatles and George Martin. For example, the "aah-aah-aah, here I am" vocals of "The Only Living Boy in New York" were achieved--if I'm remembering this correctly--by having Paul and Art sing in a cathedral, then multitracking their voices. The effect is otherworldly and incredibly moving.

I've always read, from various critics over the years, that S&G were “safe” and/or “square.” I realize that with their oxford shirts, sweaters, and short (for the time) haircuts, (not to mention their gentle music), it’s hard to argue too much against this assessment, but S&G were about the most quietly subversive group/band of the ‘60s. They made anti-war sentiments and a questioning of America's direction, during a time of war and unrest, more palatable to the establishment—i.e. the middle American moms and dads of the young hippies who were gathering at Monterey, Woodstock, and Altamont. Perhaps in a small way, Simon & Garfunkel's decency, intelligence, and accessible music helped to bridge some of the generation gap. They did this in a way that more overtly rebellious musicians like The Doors, Bob Dylan, or the Rolling Stones never could. S&G were literally "bridges over troubled water" during a difficult time in America...and they've been providing me with a great listening experience for the last few weeks or so.

Spartan basketball: a postscript and postmortem

2011-03-20T14:33:00.004-04:00

The Spartans bowed out in the first round of the NCAA tournament with a performance that was befitting of their entire season. They started off incredibly sluggish and throughout the first half and most of the second half were getting blown off the court by the UCLA Bruins. Then, when it appeared they were completely dead--down by 23 with a little more than eight minutes left--MSU made a furious comeback and and made us all dare to dream that maybe, just maybe, they could walk off the court with a most improbable victory. But, much like the season, they dug too big a hole to successfully climb out--and lost by two points.

Thus ends one of the most disappointing MSU basketball seasons in many years. I can tell you that most MSU fans don't quite know how to take it. We've gotten just a wee bit spoiled around here and aren't accustomed to disappointment.

We're certainly not used to losing to our archrivals in Ann Arbor not just once, but TWICE, in the same season. (I'm still hurting over that). We're not used to wondering if our team will even make the NCAA tournament, and there were many nervous days late in the season where it appeared that the Spartans might be NIT-bound.

We as fans have to be realistic. We've had it really good for a long time and a less-than-stellar season was inevitable at some point. Lots of other schools would be thrilled to have the season we had in 2010-2011. (Northwestern, I'm looking at you).

So it's time for us to lick our wounds and look forward to (hopefully) better times in 2011-2012.

A Spartan basketball post, finally

2011-03-14T18:52:00.004-04:00

I’ve gone the entire season without commenting whatsoever on the subject of Michigan State basketball.

It’s been a disappointing year for our hoops team: after starting the season ranked as high as #2 in the nation, the Spartans limped to a 9-9 Big Ten record (17-13 overall), while enduring every conceivable bad thing that could have happened to them along the way. I suppose the harbinger of bad tidings came in the off-season when Chris Allen was kicked off the team. Then, early in the conference season, Korie Lucious was removed from the squad.

Other difficulties hampered the Spartans. Already thin after losing Allen and Lucious, Delvon Roe continued to fight through pain and injuries, Kalin Lucas slowly recovered from last year’s Achilles injury and only recently has played with the explosiveness of his first three seasons. The bigs never quite developed: Derrick Nix had disciplinary issues but has looked better as of late, Adrian Payne more often than not looked like a little lost out there, as did Garrick Sherman. Draymond Green sometimes looked like he was trying to do too much and his game suffered with inconsistency.

Perhaps the brightest surprises, in a season sadly lacking in bright surprises, were Keith Appling becoming a lockdown defender and walk-on Mike Kebler making the most of his significant increase in playing time.

Through all of this I’ve felt like a bad fan this season. A fair weather fan, if you will. This team just isn't fun to watch, so I've selectively chosen which games to watch this year. I missed the bulk of both Michigan losses, as well as the regular season blowout losses to Purdue, the Ohio State loss, and several others.

I felt quite guilty about my sporadic fandom this season until I talked to my wife's sister's husband. He's a former MSU athlete (track and field) as well as a season ticket holder for basketball and football. He admitted to "giving up" on the season and echoed my feeling that this year's basketball team was brutal to watch. I didn't feel so bad after hearing this admission.

So why were the Spartans difficult to watch? Let me count the ways: With the exception of Kalin Lucas, they struggled mightily to score; due to lack of depth, they were unable to push the ball up the court as in years past, and they seemed to struggle with fundamentals (lazy passing leading to turnovers and constantly biting on pump fakes, leading to ridiculous fouls).

I attended four games in person this season, and amazingly they were all victories for the Spartans. The come-from-behind win over the stinkin' Wisconsin Badgers was probably the most exciting game I've ever seen in person (so I suppose this team wasn't THAT brutal to watch).

So now the Spartans find themselves in their 14th consecutive NCAA tournament, and I'll be darned if I have a clue what to expect from them. If they lost in the first round, I wouldn't be surprised and if they made a little run I wouldn't be overly shocked (though a little surprised). Nobody, not even Coach K, is a better floor general in March than Tom Izzo--so anything is possible. Stay tuned, Spartan fans.

Hypoallergenic dogs

2011-02-12T10:43:00.003-05:00

My son Devon wants a dog. He wanted to create his own website about hypoallergenic dogs, but I convinced him to create a post on my blog. So this is the cute picture of a poodle that he and I found on Google. By the way, poodles are hypoallergenic. Devon would like everyone to know that if they want a hypoallergenic dog, they can type "hypoallergenic dog" in Google.

"But we got homesick for Lincoln Park (imagine that)"

2011-02-06T08:20:00.012-05:00

There are times when an object's rarity causes us to value it more than it deserves. There are also times when our admiration for a certain person makes us gloss over his or her weaknesses. We also tend to become overly nostalgic for our own pasts. I certainly know that I do, in any case.

These are things I sometimes mulled over in my quest to track down Bob Seger's out-of-print 1969-1974 back catalog. Was the sheer rarity of these albums making me value them more than they deserved? Was I simply becoming nostalgic for a time (the early seventies) and a place (Detroit) that perhaps didn't warrant such a warm backward glance?

Full disclosure first. I don't want to make it out like I've always been a Bob Seger fan--quite the contrary. I remember hearing him in the '70s, but the music I like then was stuff like the Grease and Saturday Night Fever soundtracks. There was no way I was going to care about some growling, bearded dude that looked like the auto mechanic who fixed our car. (However, living in 1970s Detroit, Seger was practically in the drinking water. I have vivid memories of my dad walking through the house singing out-of-tune versions of "Katmandu". It is this memory, plus other memories of Seger on the radio in the seventies, that made me nostalgic).

By the mid-eighties, I was fashioning myself as a hipster wannabe and listening to college rock and choice older artists like The Doors, The Beatles, and The Rolling Stones. I recall that my sophomore year college roommate, Paul D., was a big Seger fan, but I found Seger to be hopelessly uncool. It really wasn't until the last decade or so that I came around to appreciating how good this guy was between the mid-'60s until the late '70s.

Okay, digression over. I know you're dying to find out the answers to these existential quandaries regarding the value of these old Seger albums and whether they hold up to closer scrutiny.

In the last few weeks, I've finally struck gold in my "SegerQuest". My old acquaintance from Schuler Books & Music days, Mike V. (who is one of the biggest music fans I know and managed the Schuler music section in the early aughts when people still bought CDs) posted three Seger albums, via SoundCloud, on my Facebook page. (I'd only been pestering Mike, off and on for over a year, to hook me up with some old Seger). The albums were Ramblin' Gamblin' Man (which I already had on vinyl but wanted to convert to a digital format), Mongrel, and Back in '72.

After eagerly downloading them to iTunes, I burned all three albums to CD-R. Although I love being able to digitize music, my preferred listening method is still compact disc since I can easily pop a disc into my living room stereo (yes, I still have one of those), the CD player/radio in the kitchen, my CD Walkman (yeah, still have one of those dinosuar contraptions) or the CD player in our Kia Soul. (Our ancient '97 Volvo station wagon is too primitive to handle CD-Rs). I was able to burn Ramblin' Gamblin' Man and Mongrel onto one (killer) disc.

To top things off, I found an original vinyl copy of Seger's 1974 album, Seven, at the only record store in the Lansing area that's worth a damn, Flat Black & Circular (better known in these parts as FBC). (This reminds me that I'd like to, at some time in the future, write a blog post in which I lament the death of the record store--as if that hasn't already been done to death).

So by now, after I've digressed even more, I'm sure you're begging for the conclusions I've come to after listening to these albums. I've been meaning to do a blow-by-blow analysis of each of these old Seger releases, but not surprisingly never seem to have time or enough energy to do so. Let me then be succinct and say that they are, for the most part, excellent.

I'll start off with the Bob Seger System's 1969 debut album: as I've already mentioned, I've had Ramblin' Gamblin' Man on vinyl for several years, so it wasn't really a revelation. It's clear that Seger was still trying to find his voice on this, his debut album, and it's a little all over the place. The record is mainly bashing, propulsive Detroit rock (the title tune, "Tales of Lucy Blue", "Ivory", "2+2=?") with a little self-conscious psychedelic pop sprinkled in ("Gone", "Love Needs to Be Loved"). Seger was trying perhaps a little too hard to be everything to everybody, so the psych pop is a bit half-hearted and hasn't aged particularly well, but still it's fascinating to hear Seger performing a style of music he essentially abandoned after this album.

Mongrel (1970), on the other hand, is a true revelation. Sounding like a more brutal, savage version of Creedence, the System's third record (after the sophomore failure of Noah) flat-out rocks like a beast. Seger's voice is a hoarse howl throughout most of it, and the band just cooks. One of the few quiet moments is "Big River," which sounds like a rough draft of 1976's "Night Moves". In any case, Against the Wind, this surely ain't. It's a shame that Seger and the rest of the powers-that-be don't re-release this gem. Those who only know Seger as an MOR balladeer would be shocked.

By the time of 1973's Back in '72, Seger was beginning to refine his craft. This may be his most well-rounded record. It starts off with what has to be the definitive cover of the Allman Brothers Band's "Midnight Rider". Seger's version is considerably more soulful and rollicking than the Allman's somber rendition. The other highlights from this album are "Turn the Page" (one of the best songs written about the day-to-day drudgery of the traveling musician) and the brilliant, Stonesy "Back in '72" which contains one of my favorite lines (one that only people from Michigan could understand) "...but we got homesick for Lincoln Park...(imagine that)". "Back in '72" is another road song, but rollicking and playful in contrast to the somber "Turn the Page", (and anyone who's ever been to Lincoln Park, Michigan will be immediately aware of why being homesick for that place is so shocking).

I picked up Seger's '74 album, Seven, on vinyl at FBC. Seven is a straight-ahead rock 'n' roll album (and probably the ultimate Seger "party album"--I envision this record played at any number of Great Lakes State "booze and pot" parties in the '70s) and features the Chuck Berry-styled "Get Out of Denver" and the bluesy, tongue-in-cheek "U.M.C. (Upper Middle Class)". The album cover is an abstract painting of dice rolling, and Seger was clearly hoping to finally have a hit record, but inexplicably, the album never even reached the top 200 of the Billboard charts. Although Seger made a few more decent records after this one (Beautiful Loser, Night Moves, Live Bullet, and Stranger in Town), I will always contend that when Seven failed, Seger finally had enough and played it somewhat safe thereafter. From Beautiful Loser on, his music became more professional and polished, sacrificing a great deal of the manic energy that made his earlier records so brilliant.

Well, I went into a little more detail about those records than I anticipated. Suffice it to say I'm having a wonderful time listening to these old albums, and am still hopeful that Bob will give them the re-release that they so richly deserve...and yes, the brilliance of these records has matched my level of nostalgia.

Post holiday blahs in a dreary Michigan January

2011-01-21T15:44:00.008-05:00

Every time the Christmas/New Years holidays come to an end, I inevitably say to myelf, "So that was it?...Now what?"

I enjoy the buildup to Christmas (especially now that I no longer work in retail), and generally enjoy Christmas Day. The week between Christmas and New Year's Day could be one long party if not for having to go to work--but January 2 has to be about the most depressing day of the year. The rest of the month isn't much better, due in large part to the grey, cold, dark, snowy weather in Michigan.

For some reason, this month seams particularly bleak. The sun made an appearance this morning and I swear it felt like at least a month since I'd last seen it. We've been lucky in that the sun has been out all day today, unfortunately this has been canceled out by the fact that the temperature outside is hovering at about 7 degrees Fahrenheit. So, though the sun is shining gloriously, it's too unGodly cold to do anything outside.

Now that college football season is over, I am back to join the rest of the human race. I can now indulge in other hobbies and interests that take a backseat from September through early January. Those interests are primarily music and books.

I perused the Book Burrow of the downtown Lansing library last week and someone had left a motherlode of '70s/'80s vinyl, and most of it was actually in decent shape. I picked up an original 1973 pressing of Led Zep's Houses of the Holy for a buck, then went back for Get the Knack (dust jacket a little dinged up, but record in decent shape and worth the dollar), Fine Young Cannibal's The Raw and the Cooked (still in the cellophane). There were a few other decent LPs that I've considered snagging, but I don't want to go overboard. (I've really been debating whether to spring a bill for a nice-looking copy of the first ELP album. I don't even really like ELP).

Today, I swung by the only remaining used record store in East Lansing, Flat Black & Circular,

with the intention of quickly picking up some plastic protective LP sleeves (really indulging in my music collector "geekitude"--but I have several LPs I'd like to protect) but knew I couldn't go in and out of there without quickly looking through the racks. I found a copy of the Bob Seger System's Mongrel (marked "$6.50 as is") in the vinyl racks and bought it without hesitating. FBC also had Seger's Back in '72 (a little too pricy for me at $20) and Seven. I didn't feel like blowing too much money at once, so I may have to go back later to see if Seven is still there, but I have a feeling that by the time I get a chance to return, it'll be gone. The old, out-of-print Seger albums do not stick around for long.

More music posts to come, I promise!

(Update: Ever the obsessive music nerd, I did return to FBC and DID obtain a vinyl copy of Seven, though I passed on Back in '72).

A terrible end to an otherwise great season (Alabama 49, Michigan State 7)

2011-01-05T10:59:00.006-05:00

I feel silly that I really thought MSU had a chance in this game. How wrong I was. How amazingly, ridiculously wrong I was!

In my defense, I'll say that the primary reason I thought the Spartans had a chance was that I questioned how motivated the Tide would be in this game...well, the Tide was motivated. Extremely motivated.

The obvious question is: how in the world did Alabama lose three games this season? That was the most dominating performance I have seen in a LOOOONNNNNNG time. In fairness to MSU, the way Alabama played, they wouldn't have lost to ANY Big Ten team. Ohio State is the only Big Ten team that may have given the Tide a game, and I think the Buckeyes would've lost by at least a touchdown.

Alabama waited until the final game of the season to play like the pre-season #1 they once were, and the poor Michigan State Spartans were the unlucky recipients of this spirited and inspired butt-kicking.

I was at my in-laws' house to watch the New Year's Day games, and we continued to watch this game until the very end, probably just to see how bad it could possibly get. This game was like watching a trainwreck. My only hope was that somehow the Spartans could hold 'Bama to less than 50 points, and that if they got lucky, maybe, just MAYBE, the Spartans could score.

When the Spartans did finally score their lone touchdown, we celebrated and cheered the same way we did, a few years ago, when my son's youth soccer team finally scored their only goal of the season.

One of the few saving graces of the day, for MSU, was that the rest of the Big Ten did poorly. Michigan was blown out by Mississippi State, Penn State was dropped by Florida (in Urban Meyer's final game as coach), and Wisconsin fell to TCU in the Rose Bowl.

It was a dreadful day for the Big Ten, and I am once again pondering whether college football in the northern United States is becoming as irrelevent nationally as college baseball in the north.

Despite the loss--and it was a tough loss to take, there's no doubt about that--it was a very good season for the MSU football team. The team will have a banner to put up in Spartan Stadium for the first Big Ten title in twenty years. Most importantly, the culture of losing that has pervaded East Lansing for years finally seems to be ending. There are many reasons for Michigan State football fans to be optimistic for the future.

My favorite sports moment of the year: "Little Giants" versus Notre Dame

2010-12-30T15:21:00.000-05:00

Hands down, my favorite sports moment of the entire year. Definitely worth watching again (and again, and again, and again).

"Terra Cotta Warriors" The 2010 Schuler Books & Music Fantasy Football League Champion

2010-12-29T12:14:00.006-05:00

Several weeks ago I quit with my fantasy football updates, because I was sure that nobody could possibly care whatsoever about what my fictional team was doing--and even I was getting bored with the updates.

Anyone out there who remembers any of those fantasy football posts will recall that in my final update, I mentioned that my record was 6-2.

Well I'm back to let everyone know that, for the first time since I started participating in the Schuler Books & Music Fantasy Football League, I won the title. I've been doing this for eight years, and have never sniffed first place before, but this year absolutely everything came together and I breezed to the championship.

I had lots of luck all season, but also made plenty of roster moves that helped me along the way. I finished the regular season with a 12-2 record. In the playoffs, my luck continued: I was behind in my first round matchup, but got huge performances from Brandon Jacobs and Andre Johnson to pull ahead and win by 10 points.

In the two-week championship "game" I overcame a major brainfart (forgetting to tweek my lineup after the first week because I'd become preoccupied with Christmas wrapping) and still managed to win. This is where dumb luck really played a major role: My opponent had LeSean McCoy, the multidimensional Eagles running back, going for him last night. I was ahead by only 25 points and, along with the rest of the world, was convinced that Philadelphia would roll over Minnesota and McCoy would have a huge game. Somehow, the Vikings played out of their minds and held Philly to only 14 points, and McCoy was limited to a mere 85 combined rushing and receiving yards (which totals 8 fantasy points). Minnesota bailed me out. Thank you, Vikings.

After my forgetfullness with my championship game lineup, it felt like once again I'd fallen victim to self-sabotage. I'd intended on replacing the gimpy Knowshon Moreno and the erratic Brandon Jacobs. I had the Colts' Blair White, whom I intended on starting, and planned on picking up a hot running back off the waiver wire...it didn't happen. I woke up in a cold sweat at about 2:30 AM Wednesday morning, suddenly realizing I'd missed the midnight deadline to submit my "championship week two" starters. Still, I sent a desperate email to our league commissioner explaining my oversight. Rules are rules though, so I had to go with my previous week's starters. (Our commissioner is an attorney by trade, so I knew he'd show me no mercy). Luckily for me, it all turned out fine--but there certainly were some nervous moments this weekend.

Winning the league championship is a much more satisfying feeling than I'd ever imagined. It's the closest I will ever come to winning the Super Bowl or becoming Vince Lombardi, Chuck Noll, Tom Landry, or Bill Belichick. Yeah, kind of pathetic, I'll admit. Winning the fantasy football league title has finally given me official sports fan geek status--and that's okay. I wear that title proudly.

I almost didn't participate in fantasy football this season. I'd become tired of paying my $20 entry fee every year only to finish in the middle of the pack (or in some years, near the bottom). Now, of course, I'm happy that I did. However, I know that it will NEVER get better than this season. Realistically, there's no way I can ever replicate it, or even come close to doing so. I am seriously considering retirement from fantasy football and going out on top.

Michigan State and Alabama: more in common than just Nick Saban

2010-12-28T13:35:00.008-05:00

On January 1, the Michigan State football team will be playing against the Alabama Crimson Tide in the Capital One Bowl in Orlando, Florida. It marks the first meeting ever between the two schools.

As everyone probably already knows, Alabama's coach Nick Saban was also head coach at MSU rom 1995-1999. In addition, the Tide's special teams coach, Bobby Williams, was also an assistant under Saban at MSU and took over as head coach at State when Saban left for LSU, and Joe Pendry, also on Saban's staff at 'Bama, served under coach Muddy Waters at MSU from 1980-1981. Tuscaloosa could be rightfully called "SOUTH East Lansing".

To add a little to the Spartan/Tide soap opera, MSU's head coach Mark Dantonio was linebackers coach under Saban at MSU throughout Saban's tenure in East Lansing. When Dantonio became head coach at MSU, both he and Saban went after running back Mark Ingram, Jr. from Flint. Ingram's father, Mark Sr. was an outstanding wide receiver at Michigan State from 1983-1986. In what was a hotly-contested recruiting war, Ingram, Jr. chose Alabama over Michigan State. Though he'd grown up a Spartan fan, he was very close to Saban, who had been defensive coordinator at MSU when Ingram, Sr. played there in the mid-eighties.

But the Michigan State/Alabama ties don't end there. There is an historical link between the two football programs. Back in the fifties and sixties, MSU's Duffy Daugherty and Alabama's Bear Bryant were very close coaching confidants and friends. Seemingly, the two couldn't have been more different: Duffy was the outwardly jovial Irish-Catholic Pennsylvanian, while Bear was the stern, taciturn, houndstooth-hat wearing native Arkansan. However, Duffy and the Bear helped each other on the recruiting trail. The story goes that Daugherty tipped off Bryant about a hot quarterback prospect from Beaver Falls, Pennsylvania by the name of Joe Namath. Namath was not able to meet MSU's admissions standards, so the story goes, but could measure up to Alabama's less rigorous requirements. In exchange for Namath, Bear helped Duffy land standouts Charles "Bubba" Smith from Beaumont, Texas and George Webster from Anderson, South Carolina. Smth and Webster, both African-Americans, could not attend Alabama due to segregation.

The arrangement greatly helped both Michigan State and Alabama. George Webster and Bubba Smith were the anchors of perhaps the greatest defensive teams in college football history, helping the Spartans to back-to-back Big Ten titles in 1965 and 1966. In those two seasons, MSU's combined record was 19-1-1 and, in the pre-BCS era (where every news service/poll declared its own national champion) were #1 in the nation both years.

In Namath's three seasons at Alabama (1962-1964), he helped lead the Crimson Tide to a record of 29-4 and a national championship in his final season.

Michigan State benefited greatly from Southern segregation. Duffy Daugherty wanted the very best players on his team, regardless of skin color, and MSU's teams were notable for the large number of great African-American players who comprised their rosters. Duffy cultivated his close friendship with Bear most certainly with the knowledge that Bryant could direct the best African-American players up north to MSU.

By the late sixties, segregation finally began to wane in the deep South. In 1971, junior college transfer John Mitchell became the first African-American football player at the University of Alabama. (Bryant said that he wanted to have black players earlier than this, but the racial climate in the South prohibited this). With the end of segregation in the South, Michigan State's football pipeline also ended. The Crimson Tide's football program remained a perennial national contender over the next several decades, while MSU football entered a long period of mediocrity, only occasionally glimpsing national significance.

In 2010, Michigan State and Alabama both had successful football seasons, with the teams meeting each other on the gridiron for the first time ever. Despite the fact that they have never before met on the football field, they are programs that have actually known each other intimately in the past, and have more in common than many might assume.

I sure could use an editor sometimes--wait a minute, I AM my editor!

2010-12-06T15:46:00.002-05:00

It drives me crazy that whenever I look at the posts I've just published, I have a ridiculous number of typos and spelling mistakes.

I am not disciplined enough as a writer. I tend to write quickly and want to get it out there quickly, and I hate editing. It's not until I go back and see all the mistakes I've made that I see the true value of taking a deep breath, a step back, and EDITING.

So, anyway, please accept my apologies. I will make it a New Year's resolution to be more diligent at checking for spelling mistakes and grammatical errors.

Third Annual Brainsplotch Big Ten Football Awards

2010-11-29T21:52:00.017-05:00

I know that all of you Big Ten football fans and loyal readers were just dying for the annual tradition handing out my Brainsplotch Big Ten Football Awards. Unlike the previous two years, in 2010 I will honor more than one defensive player. In 2008 and 2009, I was too flat-out lazy to break down defense and distribute multiple awards. I'm sure the Big Ten was extremely disappointed by my lack of comprehensive analysis. Hey, it's not like I'm getting paid to do this!

You were restless with anticipation to see the players I selected, as I'm sure the players themselves can hardly wait to receive their "virtual" awards. Never fear, your wait is over...drum roll, please:

Most Valuable Player: Denard Robinson, Michigan. There was not a single player in the conference who was more valuable to his team than Denard Robinson, the Wolverines' quarterback. With Michigan's defense and special teams as terrible as they were, it's hard to imagine how miserable the team would have been if it hadn't been for the offensive sparkplug that was Mr. Robinson. He led the conference in total offense, and was, amazingly, the Big Ten's leading rusher as a quarterback. Not only that, but his rushing yards (1643) were almost 300 yards more than his closest competitor in that catagory, Mikel Leshoure of Illinois (1371 yards).

Robinson's critics will argue that when he played against better defenses, his numbers went down. Well, yeah, of course they did--that's to be expected. The critics might also point to the ten interceptions he threw and his passing efficiency, which was only seventh in the Big Ten.

The mistakes that DRob made can be traced to the fact that his defense was completely unreliable, and was never able to put the offense in a position where it didn't feel like it had to make plays to keep up with the opponent.

Honorable mentions go to Ryan Kerrigan of Purdue, Greg Jones of Michigan State, and Terrell Pryor of Ohio State. Who knows how much more disappointing Purdue's season would have been without Kerrigan's contributions on defense. See "Best defensive lineman" for more on Kerrigan. Greg Jones came back for a senior year and delivered on his stated goal to win a conference title. Terrell Pryor is an under-appreciated talent, and had another solid year in leading the Buckeyes to yet another Big Ten crown (albeit shared with Wisconsin and Michigan State).

Best quarterback: Denard Robinson, Michigan. It was a great year for quarterbacks in the Big Ten Conference, and this choice was a particularly difficult one. Scott Tolzien (Wisconsin), Terrell Pryor (Ohio State), Kirk Cousins (Michigan State), Dan Persa (Northwestern), Adam Weber (Minnesota), and Ben Chappell (Indiana) are all deserving of honorable mention. No quarterback, however, brings the multidimensional ability of Denard Robinson. For all the reasons mentioned above, Robinson is top quarterback in the Big Ten, but the others are not far behind.

After mulling this over in my head, I almost gave this award to Terrell Pryor, whose athleticism, toughness, and competitiveness are often taken for granted (despite his penchant for accepting free tattoos and selling Big Ten Championship rings). His 4th and 10 scramble against Iowa was a huge play. Kirk Cousins' level-headed leadership helped propel the Spartans to a share of the title, Scott Tolzien improved as the season progressed and led the Big Ten in passing efficiency, Dan Persa was having a great year until his season ended in the Wildcats' win over Iowa, while Weber and Chappell were bright spots in otherwise dismal seasons for Minnesota and Indiana, respectively.

Best running back: Mikel Leshoure, Illinois. By all rights, this award should also go to Denard Robinson, who as a quarterback led the conference in rushing. However, it goes to Leshoure, who finished the season with 1513 yards, averaging 6.1 yards per carry, and had a huge 330-yard game at Wrigley Field against instate rival Northwestern.

Honorable mention to Edwin Baker of Michigan State, and for the outstanding three-headed monster at Wisconsin: John Clay, Montee Ball, and James White.

Best wide receiver: Tandon Doss, Indiana. He was a highlight of an otherwise dismal season for the Hoosiers. Doss was not only a great ball catcher, but led the conference in all-purpose yardage by a large margin. Honorable mentions go out to the Iowa tandem of Marvin McNutt and Derrel Johnson-Koulianos, as well as Jeremy Ebert of Northwestern, and B. J. Cunningham of Michigan State.

Best kicker: Devin Barclay, Ohio State. Barclay was perfect on PATs and led the conference in scoring. A very close honorable mention to freshman Dan Conroy of Michigan State, who was 44 of 45 on point-afters and 14 of 15 in fieldgoals.

Best defensive lineman: Ryan Kerrigan, Purdue. I'd heard a lot of hype about this guy throughout the season, but didn't actually see him play until the Boilermakers took on Michigan State, and I was quite impressed with him. He is incredibly fast off the ball and an extremely hard hitter. MSU's offensive tackle J'Michael Deane had a hell of a time blocking Kerrigan.

Kerrigan led the Big Ten in forced fumble, sacks, and tackles for loss, and I can guarantee he will be a significant contributor to an NFL team next season.

(For what it's worth, I've seen Kerrigan interviewed a few times and he's soft-spoken, modest, and quite witty. It's on the football field that he becomes a wild animal).

Honorable mention goes to J.J. Watt of Wisconsin, who had a terrific season for the conference co-champion Badgers.

Best linebacker: Greg Jones, Michigan State. At the end of the 2009 season, Greg Jones said he was returning to MSU to win a Big Ten title (and, let's be honest, he was returning at least partly because he was NOT going to be a first round pick in the 2010 NFL draft). Jones fulfilled his goal and led the Spartans to their first conference crown in 20 years. He also anchored an MSU defense that was much improved over last season.

Honorable mentions go to the two great linebackers at Ohio State, Ross Homan and Brian Rolle, as well as Martez Wilson of Illinois and Eric Gordon of Michigan State.

Best defensive back: Ricardo Allen, Purdue. I'm going against the grain on this one, since Allen was only honorable mention all conference in the official Big Ten awards, but I'm giving this to Allen because he was the most impressive DB I saw all year. He was only a freshman in 2010, so he will be wreaking havoc in opposing passing games for the next three years. My honorable mentions go to Trenton Robinson and Johnny Adams of Michigan State (okay, go ahead and call me a homer. If the shoe fits, wear it!) who were the outstanding all year in a much-improved Spartan defensive backfield.

Best punter: Aaron Bates, Michigan State. Sorry, I'm not being a homer here. Bates was the best punter in the Big Ten (and, possibly, one of the best quarterbacks in the conference based on his perfect execution of the "Little Giants" fake field goal against Notre Dame and the "Mouse Trap" fake punt against Northwestern). Honorable mention goes to Illinois' Anthony Santella, who tied Bates for the Big Ten lead in punting average.

Coach of the year: Mark Dantonio, Michigan State. Once again, I can be accused of being a homer on this pick, but the facts bear out the cold hard fact that Dantonio did the best, most amazing coaching job of the year in the Big Ten. He took a team that was, at best, a darkhorse to contend for the conference title, and led them to a share of the title. En route, he took a gamble with the gutsiest call of the year (the "Little Giants" fake field goal) to beat Notre Dame on national television.

Shortly after celebrating the most dramatic win of his MSU coaching career, Dantonio suffered a heart attack. He coached the next few games from his hospital bed, then was able to gain enough strength to lead the team from the press box. Despite all these difficulties, the Spartans continued to win. (If I had a coaching staff of the year, it'd also have to go to Michigan State. Offensive coordinator Don Treadwell and the rest of the coaches did a remarkable job in keeping the team going without missing a beat).

When it comes right down to it, no coach in the conference experienced the setback that Mark Dantonio did while at the same time leading his team to one of the best seasons in school history. Dantonio has changed the culture of losing that has existed for far too long at Michigan State and brought the program back to championship caliber levels. In two of the last three years, the Spartans have played for a share of the conference title on the last day of the season.

My honorable mentions go to Jim Tressel and Bret Bielema (the two coaches of the other conference co-champions). Jim Tressel is taken entirely for granted. Many out there assume that because OSU gets so much talent (and they do get considerable talent--but someone has to recruit that talent), they should automatically win even if a trained chimp were serving as head coach. They neglect the fact that the Ohio State program has elevated at least a few notches from where it was under John Cooper. It's amazing what Tressel has accomplished in leading the Buckeyes to a sixth consecutive Big Ten title.

I'll also give a nod to Bret Bielema of Wisconsin. The Badgers overcame one early season speed bump (the loss to MSU in the first conference game of the season) and improved throughout the course of the season. They ran over the #1-ranked Ohio State in Madison, took down Iowa in Iowa City, and by November were simply steamrolling their opponents. He's not going to win any sportsmanship awards with the way he ran up some scores against hapless foes, but Bielema knew how to work the BCS system to get the Badgers to the Rose Bowl. He's developed a formidable football program in Madison.

Michigan State Spartans: 2010 Big Ten Football Champions

2010-11-28T11:59:00.014-05:00

The last time Michigan State won a Big Ten title in football, I was 22 years old, and still (sort of) a student at MSU. I had (so I thought--it's a long story that I'll get to some other time) finished my coursework, and was awaiting placement as a student teacher, so I was sort of in limbo during the autumn of '90. I still had friends on campus, so I drove to MSU a few times that Fall to hang out. (I was living at home that autumn, and missed campus life terribly). I recall that the big popular song that autumn of '90 was Bell Biv Devoe's "Do Me!", I was on the MSU campus the day the Spartans beat Michigan in the "Number one vs. No one" game (and joined an impromptu crazed-but-happy rally at the "Sparty" statue following the game), I had a couple crushes on two girls--neither of which panned out (due mainly to my then-cluelessness with the opposite sex), and that I had a youthful scrape with the law--during Thanksgiving weekend--that I was worried would derail my student teaching plans. (Thankfully, everything worked out in the end, I completed student teaching, and I've been a good law-abiding citizen ever since).

Okay, you don't need a discourse on my goofy life ca. 1990. I guess the point I'm trying to make is that it's been a long time since MSU won a Big Ten championship in football. (If I'd known it'd take another two decades for the Spartans to win another Big Ten football title, I'd have appreciated the one in 1990 a little more). Twenty years later, I'm married with kids and a little grayer, balder, and slightly pudgier than I was back then.

Being older, though, hasn't stopped me from basking in this championship as if I were a little kid. Ever since I had the gumption to finally check the score, while at work, at about 3:30--I've been reading everything I can, watching every college football highlight show on ESPN and the Big Ten Network, and generally enjoying the hell out of this. Big Ten football titles certainly don't come every year to East Lansing, and I'm going to appreciate this for all it's worth.

Unfortunately, I was not able to watch the Penn State game. As I mentioned in the previous post, I had to work yesterday. As a public service librarian, I'm obligate to work one Saturday per month, and my Saturday was yesterday. I knew that the only way I'd be able to work effectively was if I made a point NOT to check the score until I was reasonably sure the game was over. It was at times excuciating, but I gutted it out until 3:30, when with bated breath I found the final score on ESPN...then, pure elation. I went into the backroom/work area of the library and had a private fist pump. (Okay, that sounded a little more unintentionally pornographic than I intended--sorry).

A few observations of the game and college football in general:

What a great way to end the yearly series with Penn State, with the first MSU victory in Happy Valley since 1965. Since the Nittany Lions joined the conference, and the yearly Land Grant Trophy was established between MSU and PSU, it's been nothing but pain and heartbreak for the Spartans when they venture into Beaver Stadium. Few of those losses were harder to take than the 2008 game, which saw the Lions clobber MSU 49-18 and celebrate a Big Ten title at the Spartans' expense. Two years later, MSU returned the favor. With conference realignment, Penn State is off MSU's schedule for the next few years and the teams will no longer meet each other every year in the final game of the season.

Once again, I subjected my reader(s) to more hand-wringing and angst prior to this game. I must sound like a broken record. I was thrilled to see MSU play their best since at least the Michigan game. The offensive line controlled the line of scrimmage, the running game (led by Edwin Baker) got it going again, and the defense was solid. With the acception of a few hiccups in the fourth quarter, it was a dominating performance by the Spartans.

I have seen the game highlights, and intend on watching it in its entirety on ESPN 360. Much has been made of Trenton Robinson's gaffe after his endzone interception. Yes, it was ill-advised to try to run the ball back after snatching it nine yards deep in the endzone (and I'm happy I didn't see it live because I would have surely had either a coronary or would have thrown something at my TV), but everyone needs to let it go. Trenton Robinson has had a great year and he made a mistake in the heat of the moment. (I saw Robinson on the sideline as the game ended. A teammate took him aside and Robinson looked like he was in tears). I can guarantee that the next time he makes a pic deep in the endzone, he'll take a knee.

This leads me to one of the primary reasons MSU was so successful this season: they are a great TEAM. They all have each other's back. One never sees finger-pointing among these guys.

I really don't care if MSU plays in a BCS game. To me, the Big Ten co-championship is more important. There was too much going against the Spartans to reach the BCS anyway. Unlike Ohio State and Wisconsin, the Spartans began the season unranked and had to fight their way into the top 10. Despite the win over Wisconsin, of which the Spartans can be justifiably proud, the blowout loss at Iowa really hurt. Let's face it, another factor is that MSU's football resume over the last few decades is much less impressive than the Badgers and Buckeyes, and if you don't think that matters to voters, you're fooling yourself.

As I write this, the latest AP poll was announced and MSU is #7, while Wisconsin is #4 and Ohio State #6. I'm a bit surprised, but pleased, that MSU moved up to seventh.

The Spartans really shouldn't worry about the polls now, anyway. The goal should be to win whatever bowl game they end up in (probably the Capital One Bowl) and the rest should work itself out. With a bowl win, MSU should finish no worse than the top 5 in the BCS, and that would be an outstanding season.

It was a great year for the Big Ten, with three teams tying for the title and all finishing 11-1. It would be great if Michigan State, Ohio State, and Wisconsin all won their bowl games and all three finished in the top 5. I know many Spartan fans out there have it out for Wisconsin. I agree that it appears the Badgers have run up the score in their last few games, but unfortunately that's the way the BCS system is set up and Bret Bielema is playing the system.

Although this post has probably been long enough, I may add to it later, so don't say you weren't warned.

On the eve of a possible Big Ten title

2010-11-26T19:30:00.004-05:00

"Don't get your hopes up," "don't get your hopes up," don't get your hopes up". That is my mantra as a Michigan State football fan. It used to also be my mantra as a Michigan State basketball fan, until Tom Izzo came along and essentially changed all of that. Is it possible that Mark Dantonio may do the same for MSU football?

Time will tell if MSU's football fortunes are truly changing under Dantonio's tutelage. For now, though, I still find myself almost always thinking, when Spartan football has a chance to do something good, "don't get your hopes up."

Since I first became truly conscious of MSU football back in 1977, when I was nine years old, the years have been riddled with one disappointment and mediocre season after another. Sure, there have been the periodic moments of glory, like the 1978 Big Ten championship (which, as I've mentioned before, only seems like a rumor now, since there seems to be no visual proof of it ever occurring). That season was marred by no television due to NCAA probation, and also no Rose Bowl. Later, there was the brief period of success under George Perles, with the Big Ten title in '87, the exciting Rose Bowl win, and a few other good-to-excellent seasons in '88, '89, and '90. MSU football then entered a dark period only brightened by the flicker of the 1999 season, but even that year was blighted somewhat by blowout losses to Purdue and Wisconsin, which cost the team a shot at the conference crown and BCS berth.

More recently, we had the nice little season that was 2008, where the Spartans finished in 3rd place in the conference with an overall regular season record of 9-3. (I documented that season pretty thoroughly in this blog). Once again, the season was adversely affected by a blowout losses to conference bullies Ohio State and Penn State, and the subsequent Capital One Bowl loss to Georgia. Like this year, that team had a shot to at least tie for the conference crown by beating Penn State in Happy Valley, but were hammered 49-18.

I want to believe that the 2010 Spartan football team is a little different than previous MSU teams that have had some success but have wilted when their big moment came. Despite the team's sole loss of the season, a 37-6 loss at Iowa, the Spartans have shown more guts and resolve than any MSU football team I can remember. If they can find a way to win tomorrow, they will more than likely be remembered as one of the finest teams that the school has had since the Duffy Daugherty-coached teams of the mid-sixties.

Full disclosure time: If you haven't already guessed, MSU football means more to me than MSU basketball. Don't get me wrong, I love all the success and glory that Tom Izzo has brought to Spartan hoops and I revel in all of the wonderful victories and championships they've had in the last twelve years. As a kid, I worshipped Earvin "Magic" Johnson, Gregory Kelser, Jay Vincent, and the rest of those two great Spartans teams of '77-'78 and '78-'79. I continued to follow MSU hoops through "death valley" losing years after Magic's departure and the brief resurgence with Sam Vincent, Scott Skiles, and Darryl Johnson. I was a student when the '89-'90 team beat Purdue in one of the most amazing games ever played to claim the Big Ten title, and watched in horror as the team's NCAA tournament came to a shocking and controversial end against Georgia Tech.

But when it really comes down to it, I live and breath Spartan football. I was raised on my parents' stories of Duffy Daugherty, Bubba Smith, and Clint Jones. The first Michigan State sporting event I ever attended, indeed my first college sporting event, was the 1977 MSU/Northwestern football game. On that blistering cold November Saturday, I watched an up-and-coming Spartan team thoroughly dismantle the Wildcats, 44-3. Ever since then, I've been hooked though the good times and (mostly) bad times. It's just in my DNA now. Perhaps it always was in my DNA.

I won't be able to see tomorrow's game against Penn State, as I'll be working at the South Lansing library. I don't know that I'll even be able to bring myself to follow the game on ESPN, as I won't be able to concentrate on work and serving our patrons. My plan is to rely solely on our patrons for updates, and if I get none I'll have to sneak a peak on ESPN at around 3:30 PM. I'm sure at least a few times, I'll mutter softly, "Don't get your hopes up", but a guy can dream, can't he?

Go State!

Happy Thanksgiving, everyone

2010-11-25T11:10:00.003-05:00

I will be off to my sister-in-law's house in East Lansing for some great food, family, and those exasperating Detroit Lions. Can they pull of the upset against the Patriots? Highly doubtful even if Brian Hoyer has to play for Tom Brady.

Anyway, I wish all my millions of readers a wonderful Thanksgiving.

How modern society leaves many people behind

2010-11-24T09:49:00.005-05:00

I work at a library in the blue collar Midwest. We get an extremely broad mix of patrons: everyone from families, to elderly people, to folks desperately trying to find jobs and who use our computers in order to fill out applications and create resumes.

I see so many people come in the library who have little idea about the very basics of using a computer. They don't know how to use the internet, they have no idea how to set up an email account, or use Microsoft Word.

One would think that by the year 2010, most people would know the basics of computer usage, but this is not the case. There are so many people who are being left behind by our increasingly technological world. I'm not just talking about older folks, either. There are people in their thirties and even a few in their twenties who struggle with new technology.

This is an even bigger issue recently because many companies and businesses only accept online applications. On Tuesday, a library patron, probably in his fifties, came in the library and told me with some degree of desperation that he needed help filling out KMart and Fazoli's applications on the computer. He was jobless, having been laid off some time ago, and had recently moved back to Michigan. This unfortunate man had rudimentary computer skills at best, and there was no way he was going to be able to complete these online applications, particularly when the Fazoli's application required a submission of an online resume. This man only had a paper resume, and there was no way I could explain to him how to create a resume on Word and save it to a flash drive. He had a hard time using the mouse, there was no conceivable way he was going to be able to create his resume on the computer--at least not in the limited amount of time I had to help him--and the hour and change he was alotted use of the patron computer.

The point I'm trying to make is that technology is advancing at such a speed that many people, most of them working class or poor, are being left behind. This is one aspect of the unemployment problem that does not seem to be discussed much by the media. Working in the public service sector of the library, for the first time in four years, has given me new appreciation for the struggles that so many folks experience in trying to find work, and desperately attempting to cope and survive in this rapidly changing world.

The amazing Spartan football rollercoaster ride continues (Michigan State 35, Purdue 31)

2010-11-21T23:45:00.012-05:00

This wild and wooly Michigan State Spartan football season just keeps going. What an amazing come-from-behind win.

We went to my parents' house in the Thumb for a (pre-Thanksgiving) Thanksgiving family get-together. When I stepped in the door a little after 12 o'clock noon, my dad announced that State had just scored the first touchdown. It seemed at that point that the Spartans would go on to roll the Boilermakers and have a fun, relaxing senior day...how wrong I was.

The game went gradually downhill from there. By the time Michigan State was down 28-13 at the end of the third quarter, I was writing off the game as yet another of a long line of headscratching MSU football losses. The Spartans could do nothing right and nothing was going in their favor. Kirk Cousins was banged up and briefly left the game, meanwhile MSU had suddenly forgotten how to tackle, and were committing stupid penalties left and right.

Once again, I thought (and said to my dad at one point) the Spartans had managed to break our hearts. State was going to lose to Purdue, probably lose to Penn State next week, and finish at 9-3 overall and only 5-3 in the conference. I was overcome with despair and knew that the rest of my day, if not my weekend, would be ruined. My dad had enough and decided to putter around the house, and I decided that if the game got any worse, I'd probably let the kids watch Nickelodeon.

Then, a funny thing happened...the Spartans woke up in the fourth quarter. The last quarter of the game looked like the end of a Popeye cartoon, after our hero has gotten his butt kicked by Bluto, desperately reaches for his can of spinach, rips it open, we see his biceps bulge, and the sailor man proceeds to obliterate the suddenly hapless Bluto. This is exactly what happened with the Spartans. With the score 31-20, Chris L. Rucker easily intercepted a badly thrown pass and soon after the Spartans scored a touchdown, converted a two-point conversion, and the score was 31-28. Later, Purdue was forced to punt and Denicos Allen, a redshirt freshman, soared through the air like Superman to block the kick. Johnny Adams recovered the ball at the 3 and a few plays later the Spartans punched it in to take the lead 35-31.

Although the Spartans had the lead again finally, Purdue got the ball back with plenty of time to pull it out, and the Boilermakers were able to move the ball down the field, aided in large part by a 4th down , 15-yard personal foul call against the Spartans. The deciding play of the game, however, came a little later on another 4th down, when Boilers quarterback rolled to his left and was hammered by Greg Jones just as he threw the ball. The force of the collision caused the ball to flutter like a wounded duck and fell into the arms of MSU's Chris Norman for an interception. Game over.

My weekend was saved. Soon after the end of the game, my brother and his family arrived at my parents' house. We had some celebratory glasses of wine and relaxed while watching the next game, Ohio State at Iowa.

So the Spartans are still in line for a potential Big Ten title, but Penn State looms ahead. Just for the heck of it, I checked to see the last time Penn State lost its final home game of the year. The Nittany Lions have not lost on their senior day since 1999, when a very good Michigan team beat them. Since then, ten consecutive wins in the their last game of the season in Happy Valley.

Cause for more concern is the way MSU has been playing since mid-October. Sure, they have been winning (with the exception of the Iowa debacle) but they look like a banged up team that has lost some of their mojo. With the exception of Edwin Baker, the running game has evaporated. Le'Veon Bell mysteriously hit the freshman wall after the Michigan game, and I don't understand why Larry Caper hasn't gotten more touches. The offensive line looks a little tired, and quarterback Kirk Cousins is a one-man M*A*S*H unit. On the plus side, special teams continue to make huge plays, the defense has been very solid for the most part, and the receiving corps of Dell, Cunningham, Martin, and Gantt have been collectively outstanding. Let's just hope they have enough to put it together for one last regular season game and take out the Nittany Lions.

Classic rock really rocks me today...then fizzles out

2010-11-09T22:48:00.003-05:00

I had a particularly long and grueling day at work, it wasn't necessarily bad, it just wore me out and it was such sweet relief to finally get in my car and drive home.

My normal habit on the nightly drive home is to listen to NPR, generally WUOM 91.7 out of Ann Arbor, because that NPR station has a nice clear FM signal. However, the night before I'd been listening to the MSU basketball game on the way home, and hadn't bothered to change it to nice, staid, calm, relaxing NPR. Instead of the BBC NewsHour (or whatever is on at 6:00 PM), I was greeted by The Beatles' "The Ballad of John and Yoko." That was a pleasant surprise. I stopped across the street from work for gas, and when I finished it was John Lennon singing "Watching the Wheels," a song I didn't much like when it came out in 1980 but a song I've come to appreciate much more the older I become. I turned up the volume a little on that one. It soon became obvious that this was a Lennon tribute music block when "Instant Karma" came on. This is another Lennon solo tune that has grown on me over the years, though I still don't really care for Phil Spector's production. Still, I was diggin it enough to crank up the volume just a tad more as I approached the intersection of Cedar Street and Mt. Hope on the south side of Lansing.

The Lennon tribute ended and, holy shit, the next sound I hear is the burbling synths of The Who's "Baba O'Riley." I hadn't heard this song in I don't know how long but it was just the catharsis I needed. I thought back on when I first discovered The Who's album Who's Next back in college and how I used to crank that mother to 11 so many times I can't count. After a long day at work, the slashing Pete Townshend power chords and manic Moonie drumming were EXACTLY what I needed. I blasted my '97 Volvo's speakers so loud I'm surprised they didn't blow out. I soon learned that simultaneous air guitar and air drumming in the car aren't conducive to good driving, so I ceased before I crashed into someone.

The power of music is funny and it's amazing. I still get the same chill down my spine that I got as a 19 year old kid, and I'm talking literal chill down my spine--not merely a figurative chill down my spine, whenever I hear Townshend's powerful guitar riffs in "Baba O'Riley." There are plenty of musicians I loved when I was young and continue to love to this day, but I don't think any musician ever spoke to me, on so many different levels, as Pete Townshend and The Who. Their music was so emotionally raw, visceral, and muscular (though The Who are certainly not without a tender side) and the Townshend's lyrics spoke to the combination if righteous anger and emotional vulnerability that I felt then and continue to feel, to a certain extent, today.

Well, as often happens with classic rock stations, they can't continue to play the music I love for too long. Eventually they run out of steam and play old clunkers that I didn't like when I was a kid and still don't really care for now. Billy Squier's lame "The Stroke" completely destroyed the mood set by "Baba O'Riley." (I always thought Billy Squier was nothing more than a sleazeball. Yeah, I get it Billy, "stroke" is a double entendre. How witty. AC/DC do the same thing but the difference is they rock and you're just boring). By the time Lynyrd Skynyrd's "What's Your Name" finished, I was just about ready to turn it back to NPR. (Couldn't they have at least played a good Skynyrd song like "Tuesday's Gone" or "Simple Man"? Nope.) After Skynyrd, the DJ promised Talking Heads' "Burning Down the House" coming up next. Awesome, I thought...then, when the heck did the Heads become "classic rock"? Well, I guess the song is 27 years old.

Before Talking Heads came on, I had pulled into my garage, and my evening with classic rock was over.

Mark's autumn one-track mind...oh, and another boring fantasy football update

2010-11-07T11:07:00.003-05:00

Two years ago, I apologized to those who may be reading this blog (and at this point I believe I've bored everyone to death and they've long sinced tuned out) about my football obsession. I'm truly sorry that I'm presenting myself as completely narrow-minded, but I have to admit that this time of year, with my favorite team and alma mater MSU having an excellent season, football is my obsession right now.

My plan is to try and sprinkle this blog with a few non-football posts (we'll see how that goes). I want to write a post regarding the recent election and my observations of the political atmosphere in Michigan.

Many blogs out there are devoted to the emotional lives and personal angst of the blogger. Hey, if that's what they want to write about, that's great. I'm all for it if it's done well, and there are some bloggers out there who do a wonderful job writing personal confessionals. I just don't think I'm comfortable with airing my dirty laundry via cyberspace for anyone to see. Believe me, I have more than a little dirty laundry to spread around, but you guys don't need to know about it, at least not now. (No, I haven't committed any felonies or killed anyone, if that's what you want to know).

I've ceased with the fantasy football updates because I was finding them as boring as you probably were. I'm 6-2 right now but have made so many roster adjustments lately that I can't keep up with who I have and messed up my starters today. At looks as though several of my guys are having good days, though, so maybe I'll be okay despite goofing up.

Spartans bounce back (Michigan State 31, Minnesota 8)

2010-11-06T23:42:00.004-04:00

It was a little dull, a little vanilla, but Michigan State got the job done against a team in turmoil, the Minnesota Gophers. Now, the Spartans get a much deserved and much needed bye week before the final two-game push of the season.

I really can't find much to say about this game. Really not much to say. I will give credit to Minnesota for playing hard and not quitting. Adam Weber is a talented quarterback, and MarQueis Gray (who split time between quarterback and receiver) showed a real upside, but the Gophers made too many mistakes to make it a competive game. As far as the Spartans go, the coaches probably kept the playcalling deliberately conservative because they could. MSU's focus was to simply get through this game with a victory, as few nicks and bruises as possible, and get the guys healthy for November 20 against Purdue.

Special mention goes to Edwin Baker, who had a tremendous game for the Spartans (admittedly against an extremely weak defense) with 179 yards rushing and four touchdowns. I love the way that kid runs the ball. He is extremely tough and a difficult to bring down--in fact, he delivers more physical punishment to defenders than they can muster against him.

A pretty wild day in the rest of the Big Ten. Joe Paterno picked up his 400th career win as Penn State (a team that is beginning to look extremely dangerous) come back from a 21-0 deficit to beat Northwestern, 35-21. (If football games were only 30 minutes long, Northwestern might be undefeated). In a game that featured virtually no defense, Michigan beat Illinois in triple overtime, 67-65. I caught the last minute of regulation and all three overtimes and will say that the game was wildly entertaining, even if Bo Schembechler is spinning in his grave over the horrendous excuse for a defense that the Wolverines continue to put on the field. Michigan's D had exactly one decent play that I saw, and that was stuffing Illinois on their final 2-point conversion attempt. In other action, Iowa played flat and barely scraped by Indiana, 18-13, and after a slow start, Wisconsin outmuscled Purdue, 34-13.

As I mentioned, Penn State makes me nervous, and I could easily see Michigan State losing there on November 27. I rue the day that George Perles decided that it'd be a brilliant idea to make Penn State a pseudo rival and place them at the end of the schedule, ala Michigan/Ohio State. It has not helped MSU one bit, and it won't help them this year. If MSU had caught Penn State early in the year, the Spartans would most certainly have won against a team with a shaky freshman quarterback. But, as almost always happens with Penn State, the Nittany Lions have improved (and may have found themselves a quarterback in Matt McGloin, who has replaced the injured Rob Bolden, who is still recovering from a concussion). Evan Royster and Silas Redd had big days today at running back, and Penn State's defense is solid if not spectactular. What makes it even more difficult to beat PSU is that Beaver Stadium is always a sold-out madhouse, particularly that last game of the season. Oh, and I forgot to menton that the weather in Happy Valley, in late November, is usually about 30 degrees, snowy, and windy. Thank God this is the last year MSU will have to play these guys the last week of the season, as Big Ten expansion has killed this fake rivalry.

It was really a day for college football for me. Perfect weather for the pigskin, with sunny skies, lots of leaves on the ground, and temperatures in the mid-30s. I'd have loved to have been at Spartan Stadium, but was content to settle for the warmth of my living room and flat screen TV.

The dream season takes a detour (Iowa 37, Michigan State 6)

2010-10-31T10:51:00.002-04:00

I didn't think MSU had a realistic shot at going undefeated, but I definitely didn't foresee the drubbing they took at Iowa. I now consider myself lucky that I had to work at the library yesterday, and did not have to subject myself to the pre-Halloween horror show put on by the Spartans.

Hats off to the Hawkeyes, they definitely came to play, and it was exactly the scenario that I was afraid of after Iowa suffered their heartbreaking loss to Wisconsin last week. Iowa was angry and focused.

The game exposed MSU's deficiencies that have been glossed over in their recent victories over Illinois and Northwestern. The running game has improved, but is still not where it needs to be. Kirk Cousins is not a great quarterback, but a very good quarterback still prone to making mistakes, and the secondary continues to be a liability.

Michigan State also looks like a physically and emotionally tired group right now. This has been one rollercoaster of a season and the guys look like they could use a bye week. They may be the last team in the Big Ten to receive a bye week--it doesn't come until November 13. Fatigue, combined with a motivated Iowa team playing at home, helped create the nightmare of yesterday's game. (Do you like the Halloween-themed decription? Witty, eh!).

More on this a little later.

Some quick thoughts

2010-10-30T09:47:00.004-04:00

Not much time to write, since I have to work today. Unfortunately, my schedule has changed at work and now I must work one weekend per month.

It's too bad that on the eve of MSU's biggest football game in 44 years, the big story was not the GAME itself, but the reinstatement of Chris L. Rucker. Everyone has to put in his or her two cents, and MSU has gotten a big black eye over this whole situation.

Well, gotta run. Wish me a quick day at work and good luck to the Spartans.

The incredible, magical season continues (Michigan State 35, Northwestern 27)

2010-10-23T22:02:00.002-04:00

Wow, yet another amazing win for the Spartans. They really had to dig deep to get it done against the Wildcats.

Now it's on to Iowa to play a huge game against the Hawkeyes, in the hostile and crazed atmosphere of Kinnick Stadium. No doubt, the Hawkeyes will be ornery after their heartbreaking loss to Wisconsin. (I'm not sure whether to thank the Badgers or curse them. I'll go ahead and thank them for pinning a Big Ten loss on Iowa).

I will be adding a little more to this entry when I get time.

Northwestern: pre-game thoughts (and updates)

2010-10-23T11:17:00.005-04:00

Michigan State takes its undefeated record to Evanston to face the pesky Northwestern Wildcats. I expect a big crowd of Spartans to invade Ryan Field.

Northwestern is a tough team to call. They are 5-1, but they have looked unimpressive in their wins, and lost at home to Purdue. I expect they will come to play, and their spread offense will keep the Spartans on their toes. I just don't expect the Wildcats to be able to make enough big plays, or the Spartans to make enough mistakes, for Northwestern to pull out a victory. However, this game does make me nervous. The Wilcats are certainly capable of winning. I'm going to assume MSU's athleticism and depth will be enough to give them a 37-24 victory.

_______________________________________________

Awful first half. Is this SOS, Same Old Spartans? Bad tackling, no energy, inability to pick up third downs, Conroy misses his first field goal of the year. State needs to pick it up in the secon half or they will have their first loss of the season.

_______________________________________________

Postgame: What a win. What a comeback. What big plays made by the Spartans down the stretch, from another successful fake field goal, some big catches by Keith Nichol, an amazing touchdown catch by B.J. Cunningham, some timely defensive stops, and an exclamation point of a touchdown run by Edwin Baker (though it game the Wildcats the ball back and gave me a pounding heart). Eric Gordon intercepted a Dan Persa pass on the Wildcats final possession and the game was over.

Maybe SOS is finally dead.

8-0 feels pretty darned good.

Fantasy football week seven

2010-10-23T11:11:00.002-04:00

No longer undefeated, a team beset with injuries and slammed by the dreaded bye weeks. I'm sitting at 5-1 now and have another slapped together team for this weekend. With the Jets, Texans, and Colts not playing this Sunday, I can't start Austin Collie, Braylon Edwards, or Andre Johnson. I will be starting such luminaries as Danario Alexander and the underperforming (and overshadowed by Terrell Owens) Chad Ocho Cinco. Could I be staring at 5-2?

Thoughts on NPR's firing of Juan Williams

2010-10-22T10:29:00.010-04:00

I'm a big fan of National Public Radio, in fact I listen to it every single day, but I'm dismayed at their handling of the recent Juan Williams situation. They played directly into the hands of the right wing and the ilk at Fox by making themselves look the like the politically correct "thought police".

Unless you've been living in a cave for the last four days, you're probably already familiar with what Juan Williams said on Fox News and NPR's response. (If you don't know what happened, why are you reading this?). I didn't particularly like what Juan Williams said on Fox (essentially, he stated that people he sees in airports, dressed in Muslim garb, make him "nervous"), although compared to some of the stuff that passes for political discourse on that network, it wasn't THAT egregious. (The readers of this blog, if there are any, may wish to argue that point).

The broader issue is the aftermath of Williams' comments, and I did have a problem with NPR's handling of the situation. Apparently, NPR has a policy that their journalists and commentators must remain neutral, which seems ridiculous (and, for that matter disingenuous, since I've noticed NPR folks like Neal Conan, Terri Gross, and Diane Rehm expressing their opinions on subjects--and what's wrong with that anyway?). In any case, was Juan Williams really representing NPR when he appeared on Fox? Couldn't NPR simply have issued a disclaimer stating that Juan Williams was speaking as an individual when he appeared on Fox, and his opinions did not necessarily represent those of National Public Radio?

Does NPR simply have an axe to grind with Juan Williams? Are they angry that he has the audacity to appear on Fox News in the first place? (I never had a problem with Juan Williams appearing on Fox News, as it provided NPR the opportunity to reach out to a more politically diverse--i.e. conservative--community. Why not present yourselves as willing to reach out to a constituency not generally associated with National Public Radio?).

The fallout has been sharp criticism of NPR from many different sides, which is deserved. What is not deserved, but not surprising, is the cries from the right that NPR should have it's funding cut. This is, of course, completely ridiculous. I have no problem with a rebuke, but NPR still provides easily the best radio programming anywhere. (Of course, that is an opinion coming from a bleading heart liberal like myself, so take it with a grain of salt).

With left-leaning politicians taking a beating this year, and with elections only eleven days away, this sort of negative publicity for NPR is ill-timed. It's just the sort of ammunition the right needs to reinforce, to the American people, how "out-of-touch" the left is, as exemplified by the "elitists" at National Public Radio who profess to open-minded discourse but dump one of their own if he does not toe the company line. (If you haven't noticed, I'm putting words in their mouths--but I'm pretty sure that's how people like Bill O'Reilly and Fox will spin this fiasco).

The big winner in this is...drum roll, please...Juan Williams. Nobody need feel any sympathy for Juan. He just signed a two million dollar contract with Fox and is better known now than at any time in his long career.

The dream season (knock on wood) continues: (Michigan State 26, Illinois 6)

2010-10-16T23:54:00.013-04:00

Somebody pinch me, please. Tell me I'm not dreaming this up. Is the Michigan State football team really 7-0?

What a ride this season has been thus far. The Spartans overcame first half miscues, unispired play, mental errors, and a terrific Illinois defense. They turned up their performance more than a notch in the second half and dominated the Illini. Now they stand as the only undefeated team in the Big Ten. Once again, somebody pinch me and tell me this isn't a dream.

I started watching the game on our bedroom television, since the kids were playing Wii on the living room TV. With the Spartans behind 6-3 late in the first half (and they were lucky to only be down by a field goal), I knew I'd have to assume my "nervous nelly" Spartan football watching position in our basement, where I'd be relatively safe in screaming at the TV and whooping it up. I grabbed a beer out of the fridge, headed to the dungeon, and watched the second half. Thankfully, MSU provided me with plenty of thrills en route to taking over the game and winning, 26-6.

With the Spartans' victory, I was free to enjoy the rest of my Saturday. I hate to admit this, but during the autumn, much of my piece-of-mind and enjoyment of the weekend is dependent on the result of MSU's football game. If the Spartans win, I'm good through Monday. If they lose, I tend to agonize for the next day or so. Embarrassing, but true.

Anyway, I watched a good portion of Michigan's loss to Iowa, and some of the Wisconsin/Ohio State game. Although a Michigan victory over Iowa would have helped MSU, I simply could not bring myself to root for the Wolverines, and I enjoyed watching them lose to the Hawkeyes. I was thrilled with the Badgers' victory over Ohio State.
_____________________________________

My old college friend Tom was in town for homecoming weekend. Friday night, we tried to attend MSU basketball's Midnight Madness at Breslin Center, but Tom hit construction and traffic woes coming into town from Royal Oak, so we weren't able to get over to Breslin until after 11:00 PM. MSU hoops has become too popular (I suppose six Final Fours in twelve years will do that) and we were turned away at the door. The place was packed. After playing text message tag all day Saturday (Tom and his friend Holly went to the MSU/Illinois game and then to popular local Mexican restaurant El Azteco for dinner) we finally got together for drinks. We caught up on the last year and watched the end of the OSU/Wisconsin game. Tom was also interested in the Giants/Phillies playoff game, since as a San Franciscan he's adopted the Giants as one of his teams. Anyway, we had a good time visiting, and I was able to meet his friend Holly.
________________________________________

Back to MSU football briefly. All of this national championship/undefeated talk has got me dizzy. I'm trying hard not to get overly excited. But having said that, this might be the most well-rounded MSU football team I've seen: Kirk Cousins has been, for the most part, excellent at quarterback; there's a three-headed monster at running back (Baker, Caper, Bell); the receiving corps is incredibly deep with Cunningham, Dell, Martin, Linthicum, Gantt, and Nichol; the kicking game has been perfect; and the defense has exceeded expectations. We all figured the linebackers (Greg Jones, Eric Gordon, Chris Norman, Jon Misch) would be great, and they have been, but other guys like Tyler Hoover at defensive end, freshmen William Gholston and Max Bullough, Jerel Worthy, and Colin Neely have all made great contributions. The biggest surprise so far is how well the defensive backfield has played, with Johnny Adams, Trenton Robinson, and Marcus Hyde all making great contributions (particularly Adams and Robinson). Chris L. Rucker was also part of that great secondary, but his status is uncertain after a drunk driving arrest/probation violation after the Michigan game. True freshman Darqueze Dennard stepped in for Rucker in the Illinois game and, though he was burned on one long pass play that resulted in an obvious pass interference call, had a fantastic strip and fumble recovery on another play. The kid is fast and has great closing speed.

One sign of the great team play of this MSU team came after Dennard's pass interference penalty. Immediately after the play, senior Greg Jones took Dennard aside and had a talk with him--not screaming, not angry, just what appeared to be an instructional talk. It reminded me of the MSU basketball team and how the upper classmen always intruct the younger players on the floor. It's an indication of the program that Dantonio is building here at MSU.

Fantasy football week six: Amazingly, still undefeated

2010-10-15T21:19:00.003-04:00

My point total this week was the lowest it's been this season, but thanks to my opponent having an even lower point total, I was able to win yet again. My team is held together with duct tape at this point, with Knowshon Moreno still out and Andre Johnson still struggling with injuries. Phillip Rivers and Antonio Gates once again had excellent weeks, and Peyton Hillis made a solid contribution at the running back position.

Michigan State football at the halfway point: (Somewhat) uncharted territory

2010-10-15T16:20:00.004-04:00

It's been eleven years since Michigan State football started the season 6-0. The last time was 1999, and the next two weeks that followed that great start were not good for the Spartans. The team lost in successive weeks to Purdue (52-28), and eventual Big Ten champion Wisconsin (40-10). State eventually righted the ship and went on to a 10-2 final record, but those two ugly weeks cost the Spartans a shot at the conference title and a higher national ranking.

Back in 1999, Michigan State couldn't handle the accolades that came with their great start. At that time, it'd been 33 years since MSU had a 6-0 start. (Coincidently, just like this year's team, that '99 squad topped off their great start with an emotional win over Michigan). Local sportscaster Tim Staudt often relates a story of Nick Saban telling him that he was worried about the Purdue game because he didn't think his players could handle the attention (and pressure) of being undefeated.

I hope that the coaching staff has not allowed this year's team to get complacent. Mark Dantonio was on Nick Saban's '99 staff, so he may have learned the correct buttons to push to keep the team grounded and focused.

The week following the Michigan game didn't get off to a great start with defensive back Chris L. Rucker's drunk driving arrest. He's been suspended from the Illinois game and he could be sorely missed on Saturday.

That brings up the subject of MSU's next opponent, Illinois. Definitely not a team to be taken lightly, as they proved by crushing Penn State in Happy Valley. That may actually be a blessing in disguise, because that sort of resounding victory surely got the Spartans' undivided attention, and ended any thought MSU had of simply coasting through the Homecoming game.

I'm hearing a lot of people around here (including several sportswriters and broadcasters) throwing around the words "undefeated season," and that scares me. I've followed MSU football way, way, way too long to be getting ahead of myself. Yes, there is something about this year's team that feels different from squads in the past, but I keep reminding myself that this IS Michigan State: a school that has been to one Rose Bowl in 45 years, has not won a Big Ten title in 20 years, and last went undefeated in 1966.*

If MSU can remain focused, as they have all season to this point, they should beat a dangerous Illinois team tomorrow...and we will be one step closer to that magical season Spartan fans have been craving for decades.

*The one blemish to that 1966 season was the famous (or infamous, depending on your viewpoint) 10-10 tie with Notre Dame.

Little brother beats up big sister, again. (Michigan State 34, Michigan 17)

2010-10-10T15:08:00.012-04:00

First of all, allow me to apologize for my hand-wringing, neurotic pre-game posts. If you've been reading this blog, you're probably used to it by now.

Call it the most satisfying victory over Michigan in my lifetime. I had waited my entire 42 years on this earth to enjoy an absolutely dominating performance over the Wolverines. A game that left no doubt that the Spartans were the better team. Absolutely nothing for Michigan fans to complain about, they were served in their own stadium in front of 110,000 or so of their fans and supporters.

I never thought I'd live to see the day when MSU would defeat Michigan in football three consecutive years.

Reading some Michigan Wolverine football blogs and it's clear their fans don't like Dantonio. It's at least partly because Dantonio had the audacity to call out the Wolverines after Mike Hart's infamous "little brother" comment after the 2007 game. Michigan fans are miffed that Dantonio didn't realize he was supposed to bend down and plead, "Thank you sir, may I have another!"

Kidding aside, Dantonio gets this rivalry in a way that his predecessor, John L. Smith, never did. It's probably because Dantonio was on the MSU staffs of Nick Saban and, briefly, Bobby Williams, and saw first-hand the importance of this game to MSU fans. Then, he moved on to Ohio State where he took on the qualities and attitude of Jim Tressel--and we all know how the Buckeyes feel about the Wolverines.

Michigan fans like to pretend that the game against Michigan State doesn't mean anything to them. I will not argue that it's as important to them as the Ohio State game. Quite frankly, based on the Wolverines' domination of the series prior to 2008, it's hard to fault Michigan fans for not thinking of the Spartans as a rival. But now that Dantonio has raised the stakes by beating Michigan three straight times, with this years' victory being the most decisive of them all, Michigan will have to take MSU seriously from now on.

Michigan State is playing absolutely the best football I've seen in these parts in...gee whiz, 11 years? You've got to go back to the 1999 team of Plaxico Burress, Julian Peterson, et al to find a Spartan team that was playing at this level. As usual, I'm trying hard not to get overly excited, but this team is loaded with talent. Unlike the 2008 team, which was physically manhandled by the likes of Iowa and Wisconsin (and needed some huge plays and a little luck to win those games) this year's squad is now doing the manhandling. They outmuscled the burly and bruising Badgers, and thoroughly controlled the line of scrimmage this Saturday against Michigan. I also see more athleticism on this year's team than I've seen since 1999. In fact, I'd argue that this year's team may be more athletic than the '99 team.

Kirk Cousins had perhaps the best game of his career on Saturday. Any argument that he is not a big game quarterback should be forever silenced. This game against Michigan was HUGE. His quarterback counterpart at Michigan, Denard Robinson, was getting all the media attention--and with the unreal numbers he was putting up, it's not hard to see why. (It's probably unfair to compare the two quarterbacks, since they are completely different in what they bring to the table and run completely different offenses). Cousins won this particular duel decisively. Denard threw three interceptions (though, in fairness, two of them were attributable to his receivers making mistakes), while Cousins was flawless.

By the way, let me say that Denard Robinson is an excellent football player, and has a bright future in front of him.

Michigan's problem is not Denard Robinson, it's that they have perhaps the worst defense in the history of their program. I guarantee you that Bo Schembechler is spinning in his grave.

It is as if the two programs have reversed personalities. Michigan State crushed Michigan by employing an offense and defense that Bo Schembechler would have appreciated.

Anyway, I love what I see from this team. If the Spartans can avoid injuries while maintaining their focus and confidence, a record of 10-2 is not out of the question. In fact, if a few bounces go their way, they may even do better than that.

________________________________________________

We watched the MSU/UofM game with our friends Mark and Angela, who we don't see that often. They have two young daughters and they live about a half-hour away, so it's difficult getting together. Mark is a big sports fan, and a Spartan fan, so it's always enjoyable watching sports with him. (By the way, he's also in my fantasy football league and is usually near the top of the standings). I think I cracked everybody up with how tense I was throughout most of the game. Man, I've got to try and not take these games so personally, but it's hard!

Mark and Angela's small daughter, Lucy, was in my immediate vicinity when the Spartans made a big play (interception?) and I yelled at the TV screen. I think I scared the poor child half to death. I tried my best to reassure her that I was only yelling at the television and not at her. (This is why it's best for me, in most cases, to just watch these games alone or in a bar).

In an effort to numb the pain of a potential Spartan loss, I drank about six beers before halftime (that is a lot for me to drink these days--usually after two beers I'm feeling bloated and tired). Once it became clear that MSU was in full control of the game, and definitely NOT going to blow it, I chilled out and cut out the beers.

It was great seeing Mark and Angela again, and I greatly enjoyed experiencing this great Spartan victory with good friends.

Why Michigan matters and other pre-game thoughts

2010-10-09T15:07:00.003-04:00

Trying to fight off pre-game jitters. I feel as if I'm playing, when in reality I have no control over the outcome of a game between 18-22 year old athletes.

Whtether we want to admit it or not, Michigan State people feel that we are the "little brother" in comparison with our snooty brethren in Ann Arbor. We do perceive arrogance, imagined or not, in the folks from the University of Michigan. (Although, in my experience, the most annoying Michigan fans are the ones who never actually attended the school). Though I'm proud of MSU's history as a land grant institution and the advances it made in scientific agriculture, the "Moo U" epithet I hear still stings.

It's difficult having the winningest program in college football history only an hour's drive from us. Whether we should or not, we at MSU are always trying to measure up with U of M.

Three wins in a row over Michigan would be incredible. I never thought I'd see two in a row, but I find myself not satisfied and wanting more.

It's hard for me to be too critical of those who, with no familial allegiance with either MSU or U of M, chose Michigan as their favorite team/school back in the seventies and eighties. MSU's only great year in football between 1967 and 1987 came in 1978, and because of probation MSU did not appear on television. It's almost as if the 1978 season never really happened.

Lesson learned from the 2004 game: never call anyone in celebration before the game has actually ended. More on that later.

Game time is almost upon us, I hope the football gods are smiling down upon the Spartans today.

Fantasy footall week five (Terracotta Warriors are still undefeated)

2010-10-08T21:22:00.003-04:00

After some nifty maneuvering to avoid the pitfalls of the first NFL bye week, I'm happy to report that my team won again and I am now 4-0. I picked up Mike Nugent, who was my kicker for the week, as well as the Tennessee defense. Both performed admirably for me. New running back Peyton Hillis was solid, and I had another outstanding week from tight end Antonio Gates.

If I can just get Andre Johnson and Knowshon Moreno back and healthy, I should keep on rolling (knock on wood).

Aside from some minor injuries to the forementioned Johnson and Moreno, my team has been injury-free, which has not been the case in previous years.

Michigan week

2010-10-05T18:03:00.013-04:00

It's Michigan week, and with it comes my annual hand-wringing, angst-filled, pre-game post. This is the most anticipated Michigan State/Michigan football game since 1999, when both teams entered the game at 6-0. This season, both teams are 5-0 and in the upper reaches of the top 20.

There are some intriguing storylines with both teams. On one hand, you have the dazzling Denard Robinson and his quest for a possible Heisman Trophy and on the other hand, there is Michigan State's "rallying of the troops" after Mark Dantonio's heart attack after the amazing Notre Dame victory.

I'm nervous about this game. I'm always nervous about this game. I've seen too many MSU losses against Michigan to EVER get overly confident.

Denard Robinson scares me. He is a fabulous player and I'm astounded by his improvement from last year to this year. And, despite what some people have been saying, Michigan is not a one-man team. Stonum, Roundtree, Hemingway, and Odoms are excellent receivers. The Spartan defense will have their hands full, to say the least.

The worst thing that could happen is for Michigan's defense to constantly hear how awful they are. I expect their defense to play one of their best games of the year, and their home crowd will help them exponentially.

I'm still not completely sold on MSU's run defense. They did do a decent job against Wisconsin (in particular, they were able to contain John Clay), but looking at the stats I see that James White had 98 yards on only 10 carries. Denard Robinson is a better and faster runner than either one of those players.

This is Michigan State's first big road test. The game against Florida Atlantic at Ford Field does not really count as a road game. How does MSU respond to 109,000 screaming Michigan fans who will be going crazy for the Wolverines. You know darned well these fans don't want to lose to the Spartans for the third straight year and will do all they can to get their team going. With the expansion of Michigan Stadium, I suspect the place is louder than it ever has been before.

Did I mention I'm a "glass-is-half-empty" MSU football fan?

Having written all of that, I must say there is a quiet confidence about this MSU football team that I haven't seen in quite some time (2008 included). It remains to be seen whether the team is able to behave and perform with confidence throughout the entire season, but I have a feeling that this year's team is different from all the other disappointing or underachieving Spartan teams of the past.

If I have any time between now and Saturday, I'll add more to this post.

Free football tickets are a beautiful thing

2010-10-02T13:15:00.004-04:00

Yesterday, I entered a drawing at work for two tickets to today's Michigan State/Wisconsin football game. I never win these drawings, so I had no expectations for that to change. Well, lo and behold, I won the tickets. As it turns out, they're great tickets: lower deck, west corner of the south endzone, row 13. These may be the best seats I've ever had at Spartan Stadium.

Initially, I thought of having my brother come down for the game, but knew it was short notice and he may not be able to make it. His Saturday was already booked, so I'm taking my son Avery. My plan is to keep him supplied with hot dogs, popcorn, and soda pop and he should make it through the entire game (provided it's a game worth staying until the very end).

I have no idea what to expect from this game, but presumably it'll be close. Go State!

_________________________________________

Update: I took my oldest son to Michigan State/Wisconsin game and we had a fun time. Above is a picture of him at the game. He was well fed in hot dogs, popcorn, Coca-cola, and hot chocolate. I wanted to stay for the entire game, but compromised and we left after the end of the third quarter with the Spartans ahead 27-17. (It was getting rather cold and damp anyway, and we were both shivering). By the time we got off to our car, parked at my sister-in-law's house across from campus in East Lansing, the game was over and MSU had prevailed 34-24. An excellent win for the Spartans and a fun day for dad and son.

Fantasy football week four: An amazing start for the Terracotta Warriors

2010-09-30T19:18:00.004-04:00

Amazingly, incredibly, I am off to a 3-0 start. This is the best start I've ever had in fantasy football, and now I feel the stakes have been raised. It's not enough for me to halfheartedly meander through the season hoping to finish with a record above .500. Now, I need to make a concerted effort to do really well this year. If not win the league title, at least finish in the top three.

I had low expectations for week three based on how minor injuries and silly behavior seemed to be hampering my team. I knew Brandon Jacobs wasn't going to play much for the Giants (and he didn't) and I did not expect Braylon Edwards to get on the field for the Jets (he did, surprisingly, and caught two passes, one of which was for a touchdown). Knowshon Moreno was hurt and didn't play. Consequently, I received no production from my backfield, but other players on my team picked up the slack. Philip Rivers racked up big passing yardage for the Chargers, and his teammate, tight end Antonio Gates, was his favorite target. Austin Collie had another excellent game, the Dallas defense rose to occasion in a must-win against Houston, and when it was all said and done I won yet another matchup.

This week, I'm up against the new guy in the league, who is also off to a 3-0 start. It's the battle of the undefeateds, and I don't want to lose to the upstart. In preparation, I dumped Brandon Jacobs (who will probably not see much playing time unless the Giants have injuries) and picked up Cleveland's out-of-nowhere "star " running back Peyton Hillis. I spent a whopping 50 waiver points on him, so here's hoping he's not a flash in the pan.

The bye weeks have begun, so I was forced to waive the Dallas defense and claim the Tennessee defense. The Titans have recovered nine fumbles so far and have not given up many points, so I hope they can keep it up this week. Maybe, a few weeks down the line, I can reclaim the Dallas defense if nobody else has done so in the meantime.

I just realized that my kicker, Ryan Longwell, ALSO has a bye coming up this weekend. Did I mention what a pain in the a$$ bye weeks are for us fantasy football owners? Anyway, I scoured the official rules of our league and I think I can get away with placing Knowshon Moreno on injured reserve and replacing him on the active roster with Mike Nugent, the kicker for Cincinnati. If Tom, our league commissioner, does not nix this move I'll be okay and have a full team ready to take the (virtual) field on Sunday.

I don't know if I'll win this week, but I'm happy that I've taken steps to improve my team. Success in fantasy football is really dependent on luck, so we'll see if my luck holds up for another weekend.

Fantasy football week three

2010-09-25T20:18:00.004-04:00

I'm just now getting this fantasy football update on the blog and I know you've all been dying with anticipation.

I'm off to a 2-0 start in the Schuler Books & Music League, and that is probably my best start ever. Last week, I got a great week from Philip Rivers (that draft pick is looking good so far). Knowshon Moreno and Andre Johnson also had nice weeks for me.

I'm a little bit concerned though because various members of my team are either banged up or are behaving like fools. Most notably, Braylon Edwards was arrested last week on a DWI charge. That's what I get for drafting a former Michigan Wolverine: bad kharma. Brandon Jacobs of the Giants got into some trouble for throwing his helmet into the stands in Indianapolis. It was an incredibly stupid move on his part, and he's been demoted to second-string running back. With Knowshon Moreno hurt this weekend and not starting, I was forced to put Jacobs in my lineup but have a feeling he may not do much for me.

I'm hoping for another big week from Rivers, and hopefully my receivers Andre Johnson (who is a little dinged up but will be playing against Dallas), Austin Collie, and Chad Ochocinco will all have good weeks. I'm also excited about how well Philip Rivers' teammate Antonio Gates has done for me. I'm pleading for these guys to pick up the slack because I don't think I'm getting anything from my running backs.

Favorite "first songs" from albums

2010-09-24T16:27:00.010-04:00

A few days ago, I was listening to a podcast of NPR's "All Songs Considered," which, by the way, is a great show for music geeks out there. This particular show focused on great lead-off tracks from albums (remember those things called "albums"?). That got me to thinking about some of my favorite first songs from albums that I like. Here are a few I came up with, with some of my own commentary (that I will try to add as I get the time--so we'll see how that goes). I may add more to this list as I think of them. If anyone out there is reading this, I'd like to hear yours.

"So What"--Miles Davis, Kind of Blue (A classic track in its own right that really sets the mood for the album).

"Break on Through (to the other side)"--The Doors, The Doors (This may as well be The Doors' theme song, a darker version of "Hey, hey, we're the Monkees" if you will. One of the bands' hardest rocking songs and it really draws you in to The Doors' world).

"Sister Anne"--MC5, High Times (This is just a killer track and a great album opener).

"Roadrunner"--Modern Lovers, Modern Lovers (This is a great driving song, and not just because the subject of the song is driving. In this tune with Jonathan Richman subverting the classic rock 'n' roll car song by changing the locale to the dull suburbs of Boston and the protagonist to a geeky white teenager. But the big reason this song is so great is because the Modern Lovers absolutely cook, jamming the Velvet's "Sister Ray" riff and almost making it their own. Like any great "first song," it sucks you completely into the musician(s)' world).

"Thank You For Sending Me an Angel"--Talking Heads, More Songs About Buildings and Food (Chris Frantz's shuffling drumbeat, reminiscent of Ringo's on "Get Back," and David Byrne's manic yelping. I love it.)

"Gimme Shelter"--The Rolling Stones, Let It Bleed (That opening guitar patter feels like the sound of the apocalypse. It's the sound of the end of the sixties, the sound of the chaos of Altamont. It's easily the darkest and most foreboding "opening song" on this list).

"Welcome to the Jungle"--Guns 'N Roses, Appetite for Destruction (By now, it's hard for me to hear this song with fresh ears since its first 45 seconds have been appropriated by countless sports arenas and shock jock call-in shows across the country--but what a great 45 seconds it is. The massive, swirling storm of guitars is an incredible hook into Axl Rose's tale of the dark and sordid side of L.A.).

"The Queen is Dead"--The Smiths, The Queen is Dead ("Take me back to dear old Blighty"... The first time I heard this song, it knocked me out, with the crackly recording of the women singing the World War I tune [a soundbite taken from the 1962 British film The L-Shaped Room , followed by Johnny Marr's distorted guitar and Morrissey's witty attack on the royal family. It still holds up).

"Begin the Begin"--R.E.M., Lifes Rich Pageant (Peter Buck's buzzsaw guitar riffage and Stipe's aggressive--for him, anyway--singing put this one over the top. This one still gets me going 24 years later).

And a few others:

"Immigrant Song"--Led Zeppelin III (Led Zep had plenty of great album openers).

"Whole Lotta Love"--Led Zeppelin II

"One of These Days"--Pink Floyd, Meddle (I remember a guy who lived on my dorm room floor who loved "testing his stereo speakers" by blasting this).

"Back in the U.S.S.R.--The Beatles, "White Album" (Love the jet engine sounds panning from speaker to speaker).

"Norwegian Wood (this bird has flown)--The Beatles, Rubber Soul (The song that announced to the world that The Beatles, by late '65, were interested in more than just holding hands. Whenever I hear this song, I imagine all the teenage girls who received this album as a gift during Christmas 1965, running off to the little record players in their bedrooms, and being invited into this sound-picture of pot-hazed bohemian sophistication. Young minds were blown and The Woodstock Generation was truly born).

"Like a Rolling Stone"--Bob Dylan, Highway 61 Revisited (From the first drum stick crack and Al Kooper's organ--to Dylan's angry putdown of the rich girl suddenly down on her heels, this one is a killer).

The greatest ever finish to a Spartan football game (that I've seen, anyway)

2010-09-19T20:16:00.004-04:00

Michigan State defeated Notre Dame, 34-31, with the winning touchdown coming on a fake field goal in overtime.

I've seen quite a few Michigan State football games in my time, but the finish of Saturday's MSU/Notre Dame game was the best that I've ever seen, and I doubt that I'll ever see a more exciting finish to a Spartan football game.

Random thoughts on the game:

It's too bad that the excitement and stress of that game may have contributed to Mark Dantonio having a heart attack. We all wish him a speedy recovery.

Everyone thinks of Dantonio as being perhaps the most conservative coach in college football, and he threw everyone off, particularly Notre Dame coach Brian Kelly, with that fake field goal to win the game. Nobody in Spartan Stadium and nobody watching on television (including me) expected that play call.

Who is the genius coach now? Before the season started, one would have thought Brian Kelly was the second coming of Knute Rockne. Now a 1-2 start, with questionable playcalling contributing to close losses to U of M and MSU, has Kelly already on the hot seat in South Bend. The honeymoon is over.

Wins like the one against the Irish, and amazing finishes like that, almost make up for the heartbreaking losses I've had to endure as a Spartan fan. It's never easy being "green," but last night was one I'll alway cherish.

The obligatory football post (of the non-fantasy variety, The Curse of Bobby Layne Lives On and other stories)

2010-09-15T18:34:00.006-04:00

This past Sunday, the Detroit Lions proved once again that the Football Gods hate them, as one of the most spectacular end zone touchdown catches I've ever witnessed was incredibly/incredulously, ruled a non-catch because Calvin Johnson flicked the ball out of the end zone in celebration. This little flicking/dropping of the football--the NFL rules call this a "second act" or some such vague bullshit--was what nullified what rightfully should have been the probable winning score against the Bears. I qualify this as the "probable" winning touchdown because, after all, we're talking about the Lions here--they could have easily given up a score to the Bears in the final seconds of the game and lost. As we all know, the Lions are much better at losing than winning.

By this point, enough has been written about this controversial play to fill a book as long as War and Peace, so I don't know what I have to add. I'll simply present my perspective as a Detroit sports fan. It seems to me that the world is out to not only screw the State of Michigan, but screw all of our sports teams. First we had Armando Galarraga's (should have been) perfect game that was taken away by quite possibly the worst blown call in baseball history, and now we have a dramatic (should have been) game-winning touchdown--which would have ended a 20 -game road losing streak for the hapless Lions--taken away by quite possibly the most obscure, and certainly most illogical, rules in the No Fun League...er, the National Football League.

My only conclusion is that Detroit sports teams are the nerd in school that everyone delights in picking on.

The Curse of Bobby Layne continues unabated for the Lions. (For those not in the know, when the Lions traded their star quarterback Bobby Layne to Pittsburgh in 1958, an unhappy Layne said the Lions would not win for 50 years. The 50 years has expired now, but that doesn't seem to matter).

_________________________________________________

I haven't yet written much about college football this season. The big story in these parts is Denard Robinson and the rise of the Michigan Wolverines. I knew it was too much to expect for the Wolverines to be down for too long, though I was hoping like crazy they would be. I don't know how they'll finish the season, but I suspect they should go about 8-4 at the very least. This does seem to have the hint of deja vu all over again (i.e. young quarterback dazzles the national media as the Wolverines jump out to an undefeated start, only to fall on their faces when they have to play better competition), but DRob has way more talent than Tate Forcier. By the way, lost in the all the love for Denard is the major improvement of Michigan's offensive line.

Enough about Michigan, now on to my team, the Michigan State Spartans. I still don't know what to make of this team: are they just not playing up to their full potential, or are they just not that great? Are we in for yet another disappointing football season in East Lansing? Will the Spartan suffer an embarrassing loss to Notre Dame and find the once hopeful and optimistic fans bailing on them, selling their tickets for pennies, and counting the days until basketball season tips off?

Sorry for the negativity, but this tends to happen when you've followed MSU football for as long as I have--and have been disappointed way more times than you can count.

On the other, more optimistic side, is it possible that MSU has kept the game plan bland in the first two games to not tip their hand? I certainly hope that this is the case.

MSU's running game looks explosive with Edwin Baker and freshman Le'Veon Bell having huge games in the opening two weeks of the season, and we still haven't seen Larry Caper yet because he's been nursing a hand injury he sustained before the season began. Caper is expected to play against the Golden Domers.

I'm concerned about the inconsistency of the passing game, which seemed to be the Spartans' big strength this year (and still may prove to be the best part of their offense when it's all said and done).

The biggest concern has to be with the defense. That really needed to improve after last year and, thus far, it doesn't seem to have gotten much better.

We'll know a lot more about the state of the MSU football team after this Saturday's Notre Dame game. I sure hope I can go to bed a happy football fan on Saturday night.

Fantasy football week two

2010-09-15T17:32:00.004-04:00

A win for me in the first weekend of the fantasy football/NFL season. Phillip Rivers, the quarterback I had trepidation over drafting, turned out to be my one of highest scorers of the week tide with my receiver, Chad Ochocinco, at 21 points), and his fellow Charger tight end Antonio Gates did well, too. If San Diego's defense continues to struggle, it may mean that the Chargers will have to throw the ball more, which (barring interceptions) will help me.

I didn't get much production from my running backs, although Knowshon Moreno had a fairly decent game with 12 points. I'm also thrilled that my final round draft pick, Austin Collie, had an outstanding game for the Colts. It looks like the Indianapolis offense will have to do everything possible to make up for the team's terrible defense, so this should help Collie's receiving numbers--good news for me.

I'll be holding tight with my roster this week. No injuries, nothing is broken yet, so there is really no need to make any moves.

By the way, for most years my team has been called the Fighting Chipmunks (one year, I modified the name to the Raging Rodents). This season, I went with a name that I thought would be perfect for a fantasy football team, the Terra Cotta Warriors.

Fantasy football week one

2010-09-09T09:35:00.005-04:00

I thought of doing this last year, but for whatever reason (laziness?) never actually did it. This may be a complete snooze for most people out there, assuming anyone is still reading this blog, but I thought it'd be fun to keep a weekly journal of my experiences in my fantasy football league: the (sometime) ups and (usual) downs of the (geeky) life of a fantasy football owner.

This year marks my eighth season in the Schuler Books Fantasy Football League. I have never won a league title, and I chalk this up to a combination of bad luck and a little bit of my own indifference. I'm not the type of fantasy football owner who is checking the stats every week, monitoring the waiver wire, and wheeling and dealing elaborate trades to improve my team. I am in fantasy football more for the camaraderie than the desire to win the league title. Don't get me wrong, I'd love to be league champion--particularly because there is money involved in our league--but the problem is I just don't have the time or inclination to consistently upgrade my team throughout the season. My favorite part of the fantasy football season are the handful of excuses I have to get together with the other league owners and drink a few beers.

Last Sunday, we had our draft at Tripper's sports bar on the east side of Lansing. Unlike most other leagues, we don't have our draft online but do it live and in-person. This gives our owners plenty of opportunities to trash talk and B.S. and either rip each other or compliment each other after each draft pick. We have a large white poster board with a grid that is positioned at the end of a long table. With each draft pick, the owner in question making his pick is forced to run the gauntlet of the other owners and face either the cheers and jeers after he writes the name of the player he has chosen. Since the majority of us are bookstore geeks, the jeering is generally kept to a minimum, but there is plenty of smack talk and bullshit slung throughout the evening.

As usual, I didn't do any pre-draft research until about eight hours before the draft. This is much like my approach to Christmas shopping. Every autumn, I tell myself that I'm going to do my Christmas shopping early but inevitably put it off until a week before the big day. Every summer, I am bound and determined to prepare early for the fantasy football draft, but put it off until either a day before the draft or THE day of the draft. (I must admit that my "research" usually only consists of finding an online fantasy football ranking site, ESPN has a good one, and printing out their rankings of NFL players by position.

Despite my procrastination, I feel pretty good about my draft this year. That's not always the case. Sometimes I pick too impulsively, sometimes I don't keep into account which players are one the way up and which are getting old and on the way down. Last year, for example, I drafted LaDainian Tomlinson, a somewhat long-in-the-tooth running back, in the second or third round and he did virtually nothing for me the entire season. I should have known better than to draft a guy on the dowslide of his career so high in the draft, and would have been better to go with a younger, up and coming running back.

This year, my draft position was seventh (in a ten team league). My strategy was to pick the best player available, regardless of position, in the first round. The NFL has increasingly become a league dominated by quarterbacks and wide receivers. It's become rare to find teams that have one dominant running back that is focus of the offense. Beyond Chris Johnson of the Tennessee Titans and Adrian Peterson of the Minnesota Vikings, it tends to be running back by committee on the other NFL teams. Anyway, my first draft pick was wide receiver Andre Johnson of the Houston Texans, who has led the league in receiving yardage the last two seasons.

After Andre Johnson, I took the best available running back in the second round (DeAngelo Williams). My first quarterback pick came in the third round: Phillip Rivers. This is one pick that doesn't excite me. It was between Rivers and Tony Romo, and I'm thinking perhaps I should have taken Romo. I had Rivers a few seasons ago (2008?) and he was a disappointment. I went with running back Knowshon Moreno in round four, and took another wide receiver, Chad Ochocinco, in the fifth round. In the sixth round, I drafted the second-highest ranked tight end, Antonio Gates. After about the sixth round, it's garbage time. I feel good about my choices of receivers Braylon Edwards and Dez Bryant, and think I might have gotten a steal with Colts receiver Austin Collie in the 14th and final round. I hope that I can at least use some of these receivers as trade bait if the need arises. I'm also pleased with my backup quarterback Mark Sanchez, and my backup tight end, Chris Cooley. Depending on how the season develops, both of these guys might be starters. The rest of my roster includes running back Brandon Jacobs (7th round), the Dallas Cowboys defense (12th round), and kicker Ryan Longwell (13th round).

I loaded up my roster with five wide receivers and only three running backs. We'll see if this strategy works. If one or two of my running backs get injured or have sub-par seasons, I will have to jettison one or two of these receivers in a trade--or else check the waiver wire for any unknown who, out of nowhere, starts to have a good year.

The NFL season starts tonight, and I'll post an update next week.

Keweenaw Vacation and...are you ready for some football?!

2010-09-04T09:56:00.007-04:00

On Wednesday, we returned home from five days spent at Fort Wilkins State Park in Copper Harbor, Michigan.

The weather was the hottest that I've ever experienced in the Upper Peninsula, with highs in the upper 80s and low 90s from the day we arrived (August 27) until we left (September 1). All the locals I spoke to in the Keweenaw Peninsula, and especially Copper Harbor at the very tip of the peninsula (I've got to be careful spelling that word--a couple missplaced letters and it appears a bit naughty) said it had been an extraordinarily hot summer up there.

We stayed in a cabin near the state park's boat launch. I wish I'd spent more time hiking the trails around Lake Fanny Hooe, but could never seem to rouse myself out of bed in time to take advantage of the solitude and cooler temperatures.

Despite the hot weather in the UP, it was a good vacation and I was happy to be able to reunite in Baraga with my Aunt Anne along with my cousin Joe and his wife Katy. They ordered Irene's Pizza (in my opinion, one of the best pizza places anywhere) and we had a nice few hours of visiting.

I managed to take some photos of Ahmeek, and old copper mining town north of Calumet. One of these days--put it on my "Michigan bucket list"--I want to tour the Quincy Mine and take some extensive photos of the small hamlets between Calumet and Copper Harbor, such as Phoenix, Allouez, and Mohawk (as well as a few more of Ahmeek). These old mining towns are fascinating.
We headed back for home on Tuesday, August 31, crossed the Mackinac Bridge and stopped for the night in Mackinaw City. I had not spent any significant time in Mackinaw City since the '80s and I was stunned by how much the place has changed. Gpne are the old mom-and-pop 1950s motels with the little swimming pools and shuffleboard and in their place are the Best Westerns, Holiday Inn Expresses, and Baymont Inns. Downtown Mackinaw City is now catered to the upwardly mobile yuppie vacationer. I miss the kitchy old Mackinaw City of my youth.

I could go on about this vacation, but I think I've covered the highlights. Enough for now.

Football is starting soon and it's a cause for celebration. As usual, I have no idea what to expect from Michigan State, nor the Detroit Lions. It could be a good season for MSU and a respectable season for the Lions, but that remains to be seen.

A CADL call

2010-07-29T16:10:00.004-04:00

I'm a little nervous these days, and that's because the Capital Area District Library here in Ingham County, Michigan, has its millage up for renewal on August 3.

Not only am I a patron of the Capital Area District Library (CADL), but I am also employed there. 90 percent of CADL's operating costs come from our millage, which is derived from homeowner's property tax in the county. Since property values have decreased substantially in Ingham County (and the rest of Michigan, for that matter) over the last four years, CADL will not receive as much money as it did before. Therefore, if the millage does not pass, the library system will close (and yours truly will be out of a job by the end of 2010, as will all of my CADL cohorts). But the loss of the library system will have more far-reaching consequences beyond my own self-interests. Everyone in the county, and all of our non-Ingham County patrons, will be without a library system. They'll have to look elsewhere for the services we provide.

If there is anyone out there reading this who has any interest in this millage, I urge you to go out and vote "YES" on August 3. In addition, I want you to know that we at CADL have, for the last year or so, taken big steps to streamline our operation to maximize our budget. We're all tightening our belts.

Anyway, I think CADL will be okay and we'll get this millage passed. I've seen a lot of positive feedback and comments regarding the libraries in the last few days, so my fears have been assuaged somewhat. Still, the possibility of NOT passing the millage is scary as hell. I'll be relieved when this is all over (that is, I'll be relieved when this is all over AND this millage has passed).

So Ingham County folks, think of how terrible our community would be without a public library system, and please, please go out and vote YES on the CADL millage on Tuesday, August 3.

The first (and the way things usually go, the ONLY) July post

2010-07-08T14:33:00.002-04:00

Hi folks, I’m back again for what, these days, amounts to my monthly blog post.

So what’s been going on since the last time I wrote in this blog almost a month ago?

On June 12, I was stressing out about Tom Izzo’s flirtation with the NBA. Well, thank God for all of us MSU fans, Izzo is staying put. It was a tense few weeks, that’s for sure. It’s a little sad that at a time when the nation is experiencing its worst ecological disaster in history (BP oil spill) and the economy continues to be stagnant at best, I’m most nervous about whether my alma mater’s basketball coach will take another job. Got my priorities in the right place, don't I?!

The school year has ended, and now my sons (ages 8 and 5) are on summer break. Every other week (when they are not staying at my in-law’s house during the day), they will spend at the summer “kids’ club” (or “day camp,” as they called it when I was a kid back in the ‘70s). Wow, I sure wish I could go to kids' camp these days! There is nature camp, history camp, mythology camp, just about every kind of activity for any interest under the sun, run by people that actually have souls. They've come a long way from the "Lord of the Flies"-like day camps I had to endure, where the only activities were archery, swimming, horseback riding (which for me was more like bronco busting), followed by a little more archery and topped off by getting picked on by a few neanderthal bullies. Then again, maybe my sons are enjoying their camps because, unlike the withdrawn nerdboy I was at that age, they are actually social and confident (thank heavens).

In other news, tonight is "The LeBron Show" and I'm not tuning in. I don't want to encourage the narcissism of having a one-hour show on national television dedicated solely to informing the world of what multi-million dollar contract King James will be accepting. If LeBron stays in Cleveland, that would be a nice story: the prodigal son STAYS home and continues his quest to bring that city its first championship of any kind since 1964. If LeBron leaves, however, he becomes just another pro athlete going where the glitz and glamor is--and rubs it in the face of his hometown in front of a national audience.

More thoughts on Izzo

2010-06-12T17:14:00.003-04:00

Here's something I wrote on a sports-related Facebook page, in response to the question "Will Tom Izzo leave to coach Cleveland?". These posts tend to ignite a little more passion in me than this blog (the irony of that is not lost on me. Isn't a blog where you're supposed to really blow off steam?), so here's what I wrote:

"Maybe this is just the Spartan fan in me talking, but it would be a mistake for Izzo to leave MSU. He is already a legend in East Lansing, as well as the rest of the state, but if he stays at MSU he will be among the "Mt. Rushmore" of anyone ever associated with the school, that means the likes of John Hannah, Biggie Munn, and Duffy Daugherty.

"If Izzo goes the NBA, he's just another pro coach dealing with temperamental pro players with overinflated egos. His personality is not cut out for the pro game and he will flame out quickly. I'm not saying he couldn't win in the NBA, but he will never develop the love and personal connections that he's made at MSU."

That just about sums up my deeply impassioned feelings on the matter. Am I coming at it as a dyed-green Michigan State fan?--of course, I will not deny that for a second. But beyond the fat paycheck, or the (still very much up in the air) possibility of coaching LeBron, I don't see how coaching in the NBA is that enticing. Izzo has developed roots in this community and this state that I can't imagine he really wants to sever.

Is Izzo gonna go?

2010-06-10T19:13:00.004-04:00

The big news around these parts is MSU basketball coach Tom Izzo, and whether or not he will take the Cleveland Cavaliers head coaching job.

I've never seen or heard basketball fans more nervous about the possibility of Izzo leaving, me included. Depending on what news report you read, it appears that Izzo may be closer to taking the job, but who really knows until an official announcement is made?

I have to think his decision is largely dependent on whether he has assurances that LeBron James will be re-signing with the Cavs--that is, unless all the money Cleveland is shoving in Izzo's direction is too hard for him to resist.

I'll be pretty despondent if Izzo takes the job, but we MSU fans are lucky we've had him as long as we have. I just don't see any way that MSU basketball can continue to be as excellent as it has been under Izzo, regardless of who the new coach will be.

It's hard to fault Izzo for taking this job, if he does--particularly if he has a chance to coach arguably the best basketball player in the world, on a team that is poised to win an NBA title. If Izzo stays at MSU though, he can become the most legendary figure in the school's history. He'll most certainly have a statue right in front of Breslin Center.

Until we know what Izzo's decision is, I'm going to be on pins and needles...

Galarraga's near perfect game: a lesson in sportsmanship for us all

2010-06-03T17:14:00.004-04:00

Like every Detroit Tiger fan, I was shocked, disappointed, and at least somewhat angered about how Armando Galarraga's bid for perfection ended last night.

I must admit that I did not see any of the game. I was talking to my mom on the phone and, after our conversation ended, happened to be browsing on one of my favorite "news sources," Facebook. The Detroit Tigers posted an update stating that Galarraga had a perfect game through eight innings. I practically leaped from my computer chair, made a mad dash ten feet to the closest television (in our bedroom), and flicked it on--only to discover that the game had just ended. The postgame had started and Galarraga was being interviewed. The score appeared on the screen a few seconds later and I saw that Cleveland had gotten a hit. I soon discovered that his hit was made possible by umpire Jim Joyce's missed call at first base.

Thus began a night that consisted of me investigating, reading, and chatting on every sports-related site I could find on the web. I also spent some time bantering back-and-forth with various Tiger fans on Facebook. When I tired of this, I studied the replay of "the play" ad infinitum as if it was the Zapruder film. This wasn't too difficult, as it seemed that ESPN showed the replay about six times per hour from about 11:00 PM until way after I finally went to sleep.

As one can imagine, the rants by the fans ranged from the conciliatory (but rare) "it's only a game, let's move on" vibe to the more frequent sentiment of "Fire Joyce's ass, he sucks." I'd have to put myself somewhere in the middle. To suggest Jim Joyce be fired over a missed call is, of course, completely ridiculous. (Unfortunately, the main instigator of the "grab the pitchforks" mentality was a certain mid-Michigan sports radio show host who shall remain nameless).

Amidst of all of the fans' vitriol and the commentary from various sports pundits decrying the injustice of it all and the need for instant replay in baseball, the two people who showed the most decency and class were Armando Galarraga and Jim Joyce. (I should also mention that the other Tiger players, and manager Jim Leyland, were extremely diplomatic about the blown call).

Armando Galarraga, the one person who has a right to be the most angry and disappointed, has been an absolute prince. His sportsmanship should be a model for all of us.

Jim Joyce displayed a great deal of strength and bravery in admitting his error and apologizing to Galarraga. Galarraga's warm response to Joyce's apology is nothing short of heartwarming.

The lesson in all of this is that, if Galarraga and Joyce can let bygones be bygones and move on, then we all should be able to do so.

End of the month potpourri (Special Memorial Day Weekend edition)

2010-05-30T20:50:00.005-04:00

In the midst of enjoying a fairly relaxing, stay-at-home Memorial Day weekend.

As usual, I'm feeling guilty that I have been so negligent with this blog that I'm trying to make amends by throwing something together at the end of the month.

I continue to be depressed with the BP oil "spill" (which, let's face it, is more like an oil "geyser"). Is it just me, or the do the folks at BP come across as the most incompetent corporate boobs in history. I haven't decided if they're more reprehensible that the Enron people, but they definitely seem to have their head further up their a$$es. But that's just one man's opinion.

I'm currently reading an excellent book called The Liberators: America's Witness to the Holocaust by Michael Hirsch. It never ceases to amaze me that, no matter how much I read about the Holocaust, I'm continually amazed at the sheer level of the atrocities committed by the Germans against their enemies, be they Jews, gypsies, or any of their long list of "undesirables." The book is told from the point of view of surviving American GIs who helped liberate these concentration camps and death camps, and they had no idea of the horrors they'd find there. I'm still only about a quarter of the way through this book, but I highly recommend it. It's pretty sobering to be reminded man's capacity for brutality.

I'm picking this back up on Memorial Day, and the three day weekend has sort of run its course. Up until a few minutes ago, the kids were getting ansy and I was feeling ready to get back to the relative peace and quiet of work--scary thought, eh? It seems as though now, however, the kids are back playing outside with the the neighborhood kids, despite the fact that rain is coming down. This brief period of calm has allowed me to write.

Figuring we'd better do something that the normal American does on a three-day holiday weekend, we took the kids to the movies yesterday. Saw Shrek Forever After, and was pleasantly suprised at how much I enjoyed it. I'd read one review that was less than complimentary, but I thought it was good. I've always enjoyed how the Shrek movies play with the old fairy tales, and get a kick out of the pop culture references sprinkled throughout. This movie has fun with the idea that Shrek has become a bored, domesticated husband and father and misses his youthful, carefree days as the dreaded, frightening ogre. Predictably, there is a "careful what you wish for" twist to the plot, but I don't think anyone watches a Shrek movie for storytelling originality. If you're a fan of the first three Shrek films, you'll enjoy this one.

I'm reduced to commentary about kids' movies because I so rarely see "grown-up movies" in the theater anymore.

Well, my quiet idyll has ended, so I'm gonna wrap it up and post this.

Ernie Harwell

2010-05-05T17:41:00.010-04:00

The great Detroit Tiger radio broadcaster, Ernie Harwell, died yesterday at the age of 92.

It was the news I knew was inevitable, since he had been diagnosed with inoperable bile duct cancer, but was dreading all the same. I knew it would be hard to take. If anyone seemed like he should live forever, it was Ernie. It doesn't seem fair that someone as gentlemanly and decent as Ernie Harwell should be taken away from us.

Like generations of Michiganians, I grew up with Ernie's voice. He was one of the people that introduced me to baseball and the Detroit Tigers. He was part of my childhood and young adulthood. There are so many memories I have that are tied to that distinctive Southern accent: my dad outside working on the house or in the yard with his old paint-splattered transistor radio, and Ernie describing the action at Michigan and Trumbull; upstairs in my room on a warm summer night in the great year of 1984, the sound of crickets outside, a breeze pushing up the blinds through the screened window, and Ernie and his partner Paul Carey relaying the Tigers action.

Mine was probably the last generation to remember when not every single Tiger baseball game was broadcast on television. In fact, I'd guess that until the early '90s, weekend games (with an occasional weeknight game) were the only times the Tigers were on TV. The rest of the time, we fans had to rely on "The Great Voice of the Great Lakes," WJR, for Tiger baseball. For most Tiger fans over the age of 35, the majority of our Tiger memories involve the voice of Ernie.

It's probably difficult for anyone not from this area, or unfamiliar with the Tigers, to fully appreciate our love for Ernie. He just seemed like an extra grandfather. There was just something so reassuring and decent about the man that went way beyond baseball broadcasting.

I was fortunate enough to meet and talk, albeit briefly, with Ernie Harwell twice. In 1989. he was a guest on WKAR radio's Sports Talk show, and I called in to ask Ernie about the 1961 Tigers team that won 101 games but finished second in the American League behind the Yankees. (One of the best teams ever to NOT win a pennant). At the time, I was researching that team hoping to write an article or book (which has yet to materialize, though I still have all the research). Ernie gave me a short but succinct synopsis on the '61 Tigers. Two years later, I was working at Schuler Books in Okemos and we had Ernie do a signing for his latest book, Diamond Gems. As the event was winding down and all the customers had left, I had the opportunity (along with my co-worker and fellow Tiger fan Ward K.) to go up to Ernie, chat, and have some books signed. Honestly, I don't remember anything I said to Ernie, it was probably just nervous platitudes, but he was everything you've ever heard about him--a true gentleman.

I don't think we'll ever see or hear another sports broadcaster the likes of Ernie again. He was considered by many to be "old fashioned" by some because, with Ernie, it was always about the game, not about himself. He wasn't a self-promoting wind bag like so may modern sports broadcasters. Sure, Ernie could tell a good sports story as well as anyone, and he had an encyclopedia full of wonderful ones, but he always saw his primary job as describing, as succinctly as possible, the action on the field. His long pauses were part of his style. He wanted the listener to feel like he or she was actually at the game, so the crowd noise, and other miscellaneous sounds of the ballpark, was part of the broadcast.

Ernie was an intensely spiritual, religious man, but was never the slightest bit preachy. His spirituality, I'm sure, is what helped him face his mortality with such serenity and strength. Ernie was also quite possibly the most literate man to ever work in a baseball broadcast booth. Who else can you think of who would even think to quote the "Song of Solomon" on each and every baseball opening day.

If there is a heaven, surely Ernie Harwell is there. I'm sure that Babe Ruth, Ty Cobb, Mickey Mantle, and a host of other dearly departed ballplayers have been waiting for Ernie to call one of their games. I can hear him say in that wonderfully nasal Southern drawl, "He stood there like the house by the side of the road and watched that one go by..."

Bless you, Ernie.

Something else

2010-04-30T21:05:00.004-04:00

Let me get this out right now:

I'm incredibly depressed about the ecological disaster occurring off the coast of Louisiana. Yes, I'm talking about the BP oil spill, which is currently still spilling as I write this. BP still can't "plug the hole," and the oil continues to gush.

Which leads me to something else that has been in the news this week. Stephen Hawking, in a Discovery Channel documentary, warns against trying to make contact with extraterrestrials. He's concerned that extraterrestrials may not have the best interests of Earth in mind. It was such a big deal apparently (the world's preeminent mathematician/scientist weighing in on such cosmic matters) that NPR's "On Point" program devoted an entire hour to the subject. (Don't know if it was worth a whole hour). All I've got to say is that if we can't even get our shit together on Earth, why do we really need to contact E.T.s? Just a thought (from a mind not nearly as brilliant as Mr. Hawking).

(Dont't get me wrong, though. For what it's worth, the thought of extraterrestrial contact is very exciting to me).

Speaking of Stephen Hawking. My five-year old, Devon, watched part of the Discovery Channel documentary with us. Was he freaked out by the portrayal of alien life forms? No, he was freaked out by the strange sight of a motionless, slumped Hawking in his wheelchair. The poor little guy couldn't sleep that night and was obsessed with Hawking for days afterwards. We (his parents) did our best to explain that Stephen Hawking is an extremely intelligent man with a good sense of humor who had the misfortune of being struck down with something called Lou Gehrig's disease (amyotrophic lateral sclerosis). Thankfully, Devon seems to be fully recovered now from his emotional trauma.

Been in a Black Sabbath mood the last several days. I'm pretty mercurial when it comes to what music I happen to want to listen to, so by next week I will have probably moved to something else. How is it that I wrote off Sabbath for so long. My, did those guys rock. (Was that just the most obvious, "duh, no shit Sherlock" statement ever uttered?). I've been cranking Paranoid and Master of Reality in my car stereo the last few days. Turned on my son Avery to "Iron Man." He has declared it a "cool song." I suppose for too long I either associated Ozzy and crew with the lunkheads I went to high school with and just wrote them off, or else just thought of Ozzy as a former bat head chomping ignoramus. His reality show on MTV didn't help his standing with me much, either. I now realize I was being entirely unfair to Ozzy, as well as Tony Iommi and the rest of Sabbath.

Ozzy's solo album, Blizzard of Oz, was on heavy rotation my freshman year in college. Truth is I have really good memories of that album. Maybe it's just nostalgia for those days of yore? I remember there was this guy who lived in the quad (4 person room) on ground floor East Shaw Hall ("Nads" was the name of our floor--you've got to love the witty humor of college-age males). Anyway, this guy looked like the "Stroh Man" mascot of Stroh's Beer (and was able to drink his fair share of brewski). People called this guy Stroh Man and his theme song was Ozzy's "Goodbye to Romance" from the Blizzard of Oz album. However, when he was serenaded with this song, the lyrics were changed from "goodbye to romance" to "goodbye to Stroh Man." Ah, college...

Anyway, I guess my point is that I'm thinking of picking up Blizzard of Oz next. I can be a (pathetic?) 42 year old pretending he's 18 again!

Well, that's all I got for now. Peace.

Dispatch from my boring life

2010-04-18T14:11:00.004-04:00

I'm back! Once again, sorry to my loyal (but I imagine, dwindling) fans for my neglect of this blog.

What's going on in my life?

I'm excited that the Knapp's building, the art deco/streamline moderne jewel in downtown Lansing, is slated to be restored and re-adapted. Knapp's was a Lansing department store, akin to Hudson's in Detroit and for over 40 years, its flagship store was in this beautiful building in Michigan's capital city. Unfortunately, like many other downtown department stores, it died--closing its doors in 1980. For several years, the State of Michigan used the building for offices, but that ceased in 2002 and the building has been empty ever since. I work only two blocks away from the Knapp's building and walk by it literally every day. It's depressing to see the way it has slowly deteriorated, but I'm now hopeful that the building will be rejuvenated and resuscitated.

Recently my house has become overrun with plastic dragons, all of which have their plastic wings constantly falling off. Modern toy manufacturers seem incapable of producing any toys that come in one piece. Damn you, "How to Train Your Dragon"!

Sort of find myself in a grey area no man's land, sports-wise. NCAA basketball is over and now I'm stuck with the beginning of baseball season and the interminable NBA and NHL playoffs. Have half-heartedly been watching all three this weekend.

That's my dispatch for now. Take care, all.

A few thoughts before tip-off

2010-04-03T17:31:00.002-04:00

As usual, I'm extremely anxious and jacked up for tonight's MSU/Butler game. This sensation never ends, I felt it before Spartan games when I was ten, feel it now when I'm 42, and may feel the same way when I'm 82 (if I live that long). I need to remind myself that, win or lose tonight, it has been another great season for Michigan State basketball. They won another Big Ten title and made it considerably further in the NCAA tournament than most of us expected.

Butler sounds like a great team. They've played some tough teams in the tournament and have a 24-game winning streak. They are excellect defensively and play very smart. I hope that Korie Lucious plays well, because I'm sure he will be pressured by Butler's defense. MSU has proven throughout this tournament that they can win close games, and I hope that this, combined with the toughness gained through a rugged Big Ten season, will be enough to get the Spartans the victory.

2010-04-03T09:41:00.002-04:00

This evening at 6:07 PM (what is up with those strang tip-off times?), Michigan State will play the Butler Bulldogs for a shot at the NCAA national championship game on Monday. It's yet another magnificent coaching performance by Tom Izzo, and proof of what this team was capable of doing when and if they set their minds to it.

Some naysayers (there are always some naysayers out there) point out that MSU has had an "easy" road to the Final Four. You know what? You can only play the teams that are in front of you, and have no control over who wins in the other brackets (and anyone who thinks New Mexico State, Maryland, Northern Iowa, and Tennessee were pushovers is sadly mistaken). Plus, when one considers that Kalin Lucas has been out since just before halftime of the second round game, Delvon Roe has a knee that causes him constant pain, and Chris Allen is just now making progress from a foot injury, the Spartans road to the Final Four has not been the least bit easy.

Well, I can hear my house descending into chaos, so I better run. No matter what happens tonight, it's been another great year for Michigan State basketball.

Team of Destiny?

2010-03-28T21:20:00.004-04:00

This is a photo, published on the Lansing State Journal's web site, of a clearly emotional Tom Izzo hugging Earvin "Magic" Johnson after MSU's 70-69 win over Tennessee. Looking at this picture, it's hard for me not to get choked up, just like Coach Izzo.

What an exhilirating, tension-filled, amazing game today. Same can be said about this entire tournament. Just an astounding journey for the Spartans to a most improbable Final Four.

After the game, I was thinking of all the Final Fours in the Tom Izzo era, and how they made me feel. This was has to be the most special for me personally.

1999 was great because it was the first one, and none of the national pundits were predicting MSU, the upstart, to get past Kentucky, the defending national champion. I'll never forget being glued to my TV screen, watching Morris Peterson calmly sink a seemingly endless string of free throws to ice that game. 2000 was a great run by a great team that was on a mission to win it all. 2001 was somewhat unexpected because Cleaves, Peterson, and Granger were gone, but Charlie Bell made a seamless transition to point guard, and Zach Randolph and Jason Richardson were brilliant. I have to admit, though, that by '01 it seemed like old hat. We stupid fans can get blase fairly quickly.

This year's Final Four run seems closest to the 2005 team of Kelvin Torbert, Alan Anderson, Chris Hill, and Paul Davis. That was a team that did not win the Big Ten, lost several big games during the regular season, and had certain media members (who shall remain nameless) challenging their heart and intestinal fortitude. That team beat Duke and Kentucky en route to the Final Four.

Just when I thought nothing could top last year's team for exciting tournament games (the '09 team was Izzo's fifth Final Four squad), along comes the 2010 team. In my bracket I made the mistake of doubting their ability to make it past the Sweet Sixteen. Though the team had tied for the Big Ten title, it just seemed something was missing. They then lost the first game of the Big Ten tournament. (I hope that by now, I've realized that the conference tournament is meaningless). I had no idea what to expect from this team in the NCAA tournament, and the tournament committee clearly had little respect for the team by saddling them with a #5 seed and sending them out to Spokane.

What have I learned? Never, ever doubt a Tom Izzo-coached team. Even in great adversity, (maybe because of the adversity, come to think of it) they have played their best basketball of the year. Today's incredible win brought tears to my eyes.

Spartan basketball: the magic continues

2010-03-28T13:42:00.004-04:00

We're less than an hour from tip-off of Michigan State's Elite Eight matchup against Tennessee. Is there still magic left? Do our guys have enough left in the tank to get past this game and on to another, most improbable, Final Four?

MSU basketball continues to amaze me. Tom Izzo's brilliance as a coach continues to bowl me over. This is a team that lost it's starting point guard for the season, has a forward (Delvon Roe) whose knee is in excruciating pain, a guard (Chris Allen) who is still nursing* a sprained arch. The team is getting valuable minutes out of a walk-on from Okemos High School (Mike Kebler). It's essentially a team that is seemingly held together with duct tape (or, maybe more appropriately, athletic tape). Yet, somehow, they've continued to win gutty game after gutty game in this NCAA tournament. Korie Lucious has exceeded most everyone's expectations and has been brilliant at point guard. Draymond Green has established himself as the team's emotional leader, Raymar Morgan and Durrell Summers, two players who have confounded fans and media with their inconsistent play during the regular season, are now playing their best basketball of the year. It seems that the injuries have united the team, rather than hurt them.

After a regular season in which the team was plagued by suspensions, incohesion, and spells of uninspired play, these guys have gotten it together at the best possible time and despite all logic, are on a roll. Now they go up against a very good, extremely athletic, if inconsistent, Tennessee Volunteers team. I don't know what's going to happen, but I have a feeling that this MSU team may be a team of destiny. Whatever happens, it will be an exhilirating ride, and whatever this MSU team has left will be icing on the cake.

*I have no idea why this word is showing up like this, but don't click on the link--I had nothing to do with it leading to this site.

Another great year for Spartan hoops

2010-03-26T14:56:00.004-04:00

As I write this, the Michigan State basketball team is preparing to play the Northern Iowa Panthers in the Sweet Sixteen of the NCAA tournament. It's MSU's ninth Sweet Sixteen appearance in the last 13 years. Pretty remarkable.

The team is banged up, battered, and practically held together by duct tape as they enter this game. Kalin Lucas is out for the season, Chris Allen and Delvon Roe are nursing ailments, while Raymar Morgan had dental surgery to fix a broken tooth suffered in the Maryland game. I am hopeful that they can somehow conjure up some of the magic that got them past Maryland last weekend, but it may be difficult for them to do so against a tough Northern Iowa team.

Regardless of what happens tonight, it's been another great year for the MSU basketball team. Today, as I was out walking during my break at work, I was struck by the fact that there is an entire generation of Michigan high school hoops prospects who don't remember a time when MSU was not good-to-great in basketball and wasn't the dominant program in the state. Michigan's Fab Five is ancient history to them: they grew up watching the likes of Mateen Cleaves, Morris Peterson, Shannon Brown, Maurice Ager, Drew Neitzel, and now Kalin Lucas, Raymar Morgan, Korie Lucious, and Draymond Green. As long as MSU has Tom Izzo at the helm, it's hard to imagine this changing anytime soon.

Getting this one in just under the wire

2010-02-28T20:05:00.005-05:00

February is almost over and this is my first post of the month. The thought of missing an entire month was terribly bothersome, so I'm just sneaking this one in under the wire.

Just a warning: I'm going to just start writing and not worry too much about editing, punctuation, sentence structure, and the like. I find it so hard to find time to devote to writing in here that when I get the chance I just need to crank it out.

I'm sure everyone is desperate to know what's been going on with me the last month. Well, first of all, let me say I've enjoyed the Winter Olympics. I'm the kind of person who doesn't necessarily look forward to the Olympics, but once they start I surprise myself by how captivated I become by sports like bobsledding, curling, skiing, and even figure skating...sports I don't even THINK about any other time. My favorite, though, has to be hockey. I was captivated by the hockey in these Olympics. The first Canada/USA hockey game was quite possibly the most exciting hockey game I have ever seen. I didn't get a chance to see very much of today's Gold Medal game, but did see the majority of the third period and the overtime. Like most (if not all) of my fellow Americans, I was disappointed that the USA was not able to pull out the win, but it's hard to root against Canada. Had the Canadians lost that game and the Gold Medal, the national depression in the Great White North would have been terrible. Hockey means more to them than it does to us, so congratulations are in order for our Canuck friends.

Nice win by the MSU hoopsters today, men and women. I didn't think the men had a chance today on the road against Purdue, with or without Robbie Hummel, but happy that once again Tom Izzo and the guys proved me wrong. They still have a great shot at winning (or at least sharing) the Big Ten title. Happy to see the way the womens' basketball team has rebounded (no pun intended) after their mid-season swoon. Second place in the Big Ten is not too shabby.

Yesterday, we had a family birthday celebration for my sons Avery and Devon and myself. Devon turned five on Friday the 26th, and Avery was celebrating his half-birthday. (Since he was out of commission after his knee surgery in late August/early September, he never really had a chance for a proper birthday celebration. I turn 42 on Monday (though I am considering going the Jack Benny route and celebrating my 39th birthday every day from here on out).

I received some nice birthday gifts (I've finally gotten around to actually TELLING people what I want for my birthday, so I will actually receive....well, things that I WANT). I desperately needed clothes, so my wife Lynda and my in-laws came through with some nice shirts and a few pairs of pants. I have also never had a pair of winter boots since I was about 15 years old, and have worn hiking boots outside to shovel snow my entire adult life. I have recently reached the conclusion that hiking boots are definitely NOT proper attire for snow shoveling, or any other outdoor winter activity, and specifically requested boots. Thanks to my in-laws for finding some wonderful boots.

The one "toy" I received for my birthday is the Tragically Hip's concert DVD, "That Night in Toronto." That just about completes my Tragically Hip collection. One of these days, whenever I muster the inspiration, I'll have to write a blog post about my love of all things "Hip."

I could write a lot more, but think I'd better save it for a little later. Sorry I've been such a stranger!

Logogate

2010-01-23T11:09:00.001-05:00

'Nuff said.

The last few weeks in review

2010-01-16T10:38:00.004-05:00

Typing on the dining room computer, Car Talk is on the radio, kids are playing the Wii in the living room, currently not beating each other up--which is a good thing.

Last week, the weekdays of January 4-8 to be exact, I had jury duty. I can't say I was thrilled with the prospect of fulflling my obligations as an American citizen and resident of Ingham County, Michigan, but I didn't have any legitimate reasons to get out of it.

In the previous two times I've been on jury duty, I've never even gotten as far as having to go anywhere. It was simply a matter of calling the phone number on the summons every day to find out if I was needed, and I never was. This time, however, I actually had to drive to the Ingham County courthouse the first day of my jury duty (and, as it turned out, on Thursday of that week).

About 45 prospective jurors gathered at the courthouse that Monday. As we were settling into our wooden folding chairs, one of the jurors, an immaculately dressed African-American man, stood up and informed us that it was not too late for us to stop being sinners and give over our souls to Jesus Christ (or something to that effect). Some of us groaned and a few others said "Amen." The ones who said amen made ME groan. We waited for about a hour and a half before we were informed that Monday's defendent had plead guilty and there would be no trial. We could leave.

We weren't needed again until Thursday. That day we were all summoned into the courtroom. The first 12 names selected as jurors were all approved, and guess who was among them: the African-American bible thumper. The rest of us were dismissed and our services were no longer needed for the rest of the week. (By the way, the criminal case involved a young man charged with unarmed robbery at a Meijer store).

The last few weeks have been considerably more uneventful.

Happy New Year

2009-12-31T20:55:00.003-05:00

I don't have much time to write, as I have friends over right now.

I hope everyone out there in cyberspace has a wonderful new year. 2009 wasn't necessarily a great year, but I'm thankful that I have my health (knock on wood) and am one of the few people in Michigan who is still gainfully employed.

I'm still feverishly working on a few posts that should appear in the next week or so. They're dated "December," so scroll down to check them out when they appear.

Here's hoping for a great 2010!

Second annual Brainsplotch Big Ten football awards

2009-12-15T16:15:00.007-05:00

For the second consecutive year, I'm handing out the much coveted Brainsplotch Big Ten football awards. I know that the recipients will be thrilled with the announcement. Since most of these awards are in offensive categories, it may look like I'm being a homer and favoring Michigan State. That's really not the case (at least that's not the intention). Since MSU had the top offense in the conference (and a mediocre defense), it's only natural that many of the players mentioned are Spartans.

Without further adieu, the winners are:

MVP: John Clay, running back, Wisconsin. Clay is the most rugged back in the conference, and he's only a sophomore. Trying to tackle this guy has to be about as easy as tackling a Mack truck. It's scary how good he could be next year. He practically carried the Wisconsin offense on his back, averaging 116 yards rushing per game and scoring 16 touchdowns in helping the Badgers to a 9-3 regular season record.

Best running back: John Clay, Wisconsin. No surprise here, since I also named him conference MVP. Honorable mention: Evan Royster, Penn State. Royster had another outstanding year for the Nittany Lions. He averaged 5.9 yards per carry, gaining 1104 yards on only 188 carries.

Best quarterback: Darryl Clark, Penn State. Clark was Mr. Consistency for the Nittany Lions. He also led the conference in passing efficiency and touchdown passes. He also provided great leadership for the Nittany Lions offense. Honorable mention: Kirk Cousins, Michigan State. Call me a homer, but I give a slight edge to Cousins over Joey Elliott of Purdue. Cousins, only a sophomore, was second in the conference in passing efficiency, and threw 18 TDs compared to only 7 interceptions.

Best wide receiver: Keith Smith, Purdue. It's hard to argue with a guy who had 91 catches for 1100 yards, far and away the best numbers in the conference. Honorable mention: Blair White, Michigan State. Okay, I'm really going to be accused of being a homer here, but Michigan State led the Big Ten in passing offense, and part of the reason was the sure hands of former walk-on White.

Best kicker: Brett Swenson, Michigan State. Another great year for "Super Toe" Swenson, who led the conference in field goals made (18) field goal percentage, hitting 18 out of 20. He also led the Big Ten in scoring for kickers, with 94 points. Honorable mention: Stefan Demos, Northwestern. Demos tied with Swenson and Daniel Murray of Iowa for the most made fieldgoals in the conference, finished third in the field goal percentage (78.3 %), and also placed third in points scored for kickers with 85.

Best punter: Zoltan Mesko, Michigan. Mesko led the conference in punting average (44.5), a full yard more than his closest competitor, and boomed a 66 yarder. Honorable mention: Ryan Donahue, Iowa. For a team that had a fairly weak offense, Donohue was a valuable weapon for the Hawkeyes. He also nailed a 73 yard punt, which is very impressive in itself.

Best defensive player: Greg Jones, linebacker, Michigan State. Before dismissing this as pure homerism, please hear me out. Jones was far and away the best player on the Spartans' mediocre defense and was recently named first team All-American by the Associated Press and Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year. So I'm definitely not alone in my estimation. Jones led the conference in tackles (141) and was fifth in sacks. Honorable mention: Brandon Graham, defensive end, Michigan. Another standout performer for a team that had a poor defense. Graham led the Big Ten in tackles-for-loss and was second in sacks. (In my humble opinion, he's also one of the hardest hitters in the conference). Few players have a nose for the ball carrier like Jones and Graham.

Coach of the year: Kirk Ferentz, Iowa. Ferentz did a great job in leading a team with a strong defense, but suspect offense, to a second place finish in the conference. Honorable mention: Bret Bielema, Wisconsin. I give Bielema a slight edge over Pat Fitzgerald, who did another fine job with Northwestern. Bielema led the Badgers to one of the quietest 9-3 finishes in the country. After the disappointment of Wisconsin's 2008 season, Bielema was impressive in how he was able to get the Badgers to bounce back in 2009.

Great Christmas album: A Christmas Gift For You (from Phil Spector)

2009-12-10T12:37:00.006-05:00

Whatever you want to say about Phil Spector the man, and I think that we can all agree that, at the very least, he’s a creep (if not a murderer), the man produced some of the greatest popular music of the twentieth century, and helped cultivate great artists like Darlene Love and the Ronettes (among many others).

Spector’s classic holiday album, A Christmas Gift for You (aka the Phil Spector Christmas Album), has just been re-released on CD, and it is probably THE best Christmas album of all time. The blurb on the back of the CD case declares it as one of the greatest albums in pop music history, and despite the grandiosity of that statement, I have a hard time disputing it. Just hearing the Ronettes belt out “Sleigh Ride” and “I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus,” and Darlene Love’s impassioned “Christmas (Baby Please Come Home)” is well worth the $9.99 I spent on the disc. So go out and warm up your Christmas with this great album.

I'm still here

2009-12-04T14:17:00.002-05:00

I want all my loyal reader(s) to know that I am working on my first installments of the "Bargain Bin Finds" and hope to get them posted soon. I've made such a big deal about these that I hope they're not too underwhelming.

I also want to write about a new CD called Early Seger Volume 1 that I stumbled across while shopping at my local Meijer store. One of my biggest musical gripes is that, for whatever reason, Seger's pre-Beautiful Loser catalog is out-of-print (with the exception of Smokin' O.P.'s). Seger seems to be taking tentative steps to remedying that situation.

Well, I'm writing this while at work, so I'd better get back to work!

Bob Seger, Early Seger Vol. 1

2009-11-30T12:02:00.015-05:00

If you talk to me long enough about music, and the conversation turns towards rock 'n' roll from the Great Lakes state, you'll learn that one of my absolute biggest pet peeves is the fact that Bob Seger's pre-Beautiful Loser catalog is out-of-print. The only exception to this is Seger's brilliant 1972 (mostly) covers album, Smokin' O.P.'s, which was re-released in 2005.

I don't know why this is the case, although I've heard rumors that Seger doesn't like this period of his career. If it's true that Bob is embarrassed by his youthful musical output, the man seriously needs his ears checked because he rocked like a motherfucker back then. Stuff like "2+2=?" (a pissed off, anti-war blast of noise that rocks as hard as anything the MC5 ever did) from Ramblin' Gamblin' Man and "Lucifer" from Mongrel (sounding like CCR on steroids) are among the best music Seger has ever produced. It's a crying shame that the only way to get a hold of this stuff is by either downloading it illegally or spending tons of money for out-of-print albums/CDs on Amazon.

Seger has taken tentative steps towards rectifying this unfortunate situation through the release of Early Seger Vol. 1. I happened to stumble upon it while shopping at my local Meijer store. I echo the sentiments of most people who have reviewed it in saying that the title is a bit misleading. First of all, none of these songs are from the '60s, and some are actually from the '80s--hardly the "early years." Plus at a measly 10 tracks, the album only scrapes the surface of what it could have been. Oh well, with Seger, you take what you can get.

I implore Capitol Records and/or Bob Seger: please, please begin a re-issue campaign of the following albums: Ramblin' Gamblin Man, Mongrel, Back in '72, Noah (yes, even the much maligned Noah), Brand New Morning, and Seven. The listening public, who know Seger primarily as the MOR balladeer of "Like a Rock," deserve to hear these vital and rockin' old albums.

Here's an interesting overview of Early Seger Vol. 1 by Detroit music writer Gary Graff. I found it on Seger's official web site:

"Early Seger Vol. 1" which goes on sale exclusively at Meijer stores on Nov. 24 and then at BobSeger.com on Nov. 30 features songs from a couple different periods of Seger's career. Four of the tracks are previously unreleased, and several have been significantly re-recorded. It's a bit different than its original incarnation, which was a compilation culled from three of Seger's out-of-print albums "Smokin' O.P.'s" in 1972 and 1973's "Back in '72" and "Seven."

But when the project started coming together in September, Seger's manager Ed "Punch" Andrews says the Rock and Roll Hall of Famer "got ahold of it and said, 'No way! I'm putting some new stuff on it.' " Andrews says Seger worked on about a dozen unreleased songs, "some great stuff, but we couldn't use it all. I think he was shocked when he found all these great songs. He picked out his favorites, and that's what's on (the album)."

The presence of those tracks, as well as the "Vol. 1" portion of the title, gives some hope to fans who have been wishing Seger would dig into his prodigious vault of unreleased songs. Seger is continuing to work on material, but Andrews says there are no firm plans yet for additional "Early Seger" releases.

The "Early Seger" project was hatched in September and put together quickly, according to Andrews. The highlights of the collection are the four unreleased tracks, three of which -- "Star Tonight," "Wildfire" and "Days When the Rain Would Come" -- were written during the early '80s and recorded during 1984 and 1985 in consideration for the "Like a Rock" album; "Star Tonight" was recorded by Don Johnson for his "Heartbeat" album in 1986. The hard rocking "Gets Ya Pumpin'," meanwhile, began life as a song called "Pumpin' " originally for Seger's "Seven" album in 1973 and was recorded again in 1977 before being revisited for "Early Seger."

Though "Days When the Rain Would Come" was recorded in 1984, Seger enhanced the original tapes of the other three tracks with fresh vocals, horns and/or other new instrumentation recorded during September at Kid Rock's home studio in Clarkston and Yessian Studios in Farmington Hills. Local musicians such as the Motor City Horns, which accompanied Seger on his 2006-07 tour, and guitarist Marlon Young from Rock's Twisted Brown Trucker Band took part in the sessions.

Seger also did some extensive re-recording on "Long Song Comin' " from the "Seven" album."Early Seger's" other five tracks - a cover of Tim Hardin's "If I Were a Carpenter" and Seger's own "Someday" from 1972's "Smokin' O.P.'s," a gospel-flavored rendition of the Allman Brothers Band's "Midnight Rider" from 1973's "Back in '72" and the "Seven" Tracks "Get Out of Denver" and "U.M.C. (Upper Middle Class)" -- were remastered from the original tapes.

Snippets of each song are currently streaming at the BobSeger.com web site. Andrews says he's "discussing" whether to sell "Early Seger" via Internet downloads, and if they decided to it will only be sold at Seger's web site and as an entire album rather than individual tracks. Seger is currently not selling any of his music via download.

A retail price for the album is currently being determined as well. Andrews says the Meijer tie-in, with 190 stores in five Midwest states, felt appropriate to the early '70s time period when most of the songs were written and/or recorded. "They're in the (region) where we toured all those years and where these records sold the most," he explains. "Meijer made it worthwhile to do this. They're pretty excited about it. It's a perfect combo."

Andrews says "Early Seger" may go into wider release in the future, but probably not until after the winter holidays. Seger, meanwhile, is not expected to tour or perform live to promote the album.

http://www.bobseger.com/news/article/4735

Bargain Bin Finds #1: The Byrds--Younger Than Yesterday

2009-11-29T22:07:00.010-05:00

I've been a Byrds fan since at least high school, and always a big lover of that heavenly 12-string Rickenbacker sound. The first Byrds album I owned was "Original Singles 1965-1967" that I bought on cassette at the now defunct, but fondly remembered, Woolworth in Caro, Michigan, for something like $3.99. This was probably in about 1985, when a 17 year old into the Byrds was not exactly the most common occurrence. (But don't let me paint myself as some sort of self-aware iconoclast. I listened to plenty of popular mid-eighties dreck like Thompson Twins, etc. In fact, by and large, my musical taste at this point was so unrefined as to be somewhat embarrassing. That could be fodder for a future post).

By the early nineties, I'd graduated to the Byrds' box set and picked up most of their studio albums along the way, Mr. Tambourine Man (I still have my parents' old vinyl copy in addition to the first Columbia CD pressing--never bothered to pick up the 1996 reissue). I also HAD their second album Turn! Turn! Turn! on cassette (eradicated during my Great Cassette Purge of 2002, resently and quite happily reacquired on CD), Fifth Dimension (I may have got that from Columbia House for about $5.99 in one of their big blowout back catalog sales), 1968's Notorious Byrd Brothers and 1969's Ballad of Easy Rider, and gleefully snatched up Sweetheart of the Rodeo when it was reissued in 1997. Okay, sorry to get all "Rain Man" on you with my boring history of Byrds purchases. What all of this comes down to is that, for whatever reason, I never got around to the Byrds' fourth (and some may argue, best) album Younger than Yesterday, until I found a lone copy of it in the Schuler Books and Music bargain bin.

Younger than Yesterday always intrigued me. It was originally released in January 1967, and opened the first salvo of the great musical year that was '67, but somewhere along the line kind of got lost in the shuffle, while flashier '67 albums (like The Velvet Underground and Nico, the Doors' self-titled debut, Cream's Disraeli Gears, the first two Jimi Hendrix Experience LPs, and of course Sgt. Pepper) get most of the attention.

Younger than Yesterday opens up with "So You Want to Be a Rock 'n' Roll Star," with its bitingly cynical lyrics about the music industry, but it truly is Hugh Masekela, guest trumpeter, that makes the song. The rest of the album covers breezy pop (Chris Hillman's "Have You Seen Her Face"), tentative stabs at country rock (once again, Hillman comes through with gems like "Time Between" and "The Girl With No Name"), druggy paranoid moodiness from David Crosby (the excellent "Everybody's Been Burned") and Tim Buckleyesque jazzy weirdness (Crosby again on "Mind Gardens." Crosby's vocals on this song are so uncharacteristically dissonant that I wonder if he was trying to sabotage the album out of spite--then again, his other songs on the album are great, so that probably blows up that theory). There is also the usual Roger McGuinn obsession with flight and space travel (the goofy "CTA-102" with its alien voices--nine months or so before Hendrix did the same thing on "EXP" from Axis: Bold as Love). I can't forget to mention the wonderful hippy-dippiness of Crosby's "Renaissance Fair," "Hillman's underrated "Thoughts and Words" (Mr. Hillman really blossoms as a songwriter on this album), nor the sublime cover of Dylan's "My Back Pages."

This reissue of Younger than Yesterday doesn't scrimp on the bonus tracks. There is some wonderful stuff like Crosby's dour "It Happens Each Day" (sort of a companion piece to "Everybody's Been Burned") and his more upbeat "Lady Friend" with its gorgeous multi-tracked harmony vocals. We also get take one of "Mind Gardens" with a more tuneful vocal from Crosby.

Younger than Yesterday is as good as I thought it would be, and makes me wonder why I waited so long to finally obtain it. I'd say it's the best six dollars (or so) I've spent in awhile.

A Day to be Thankful

2009-11-26T09:28:00.003-05:00

It's typically chaotic at my house this morning, so I don't have much time to write. Happy Thanksgiving to everyone out there in cyberspace. I will be heading over to my sister-in-law's house for turkey, sweets, drinks, and football.

I am thankful for my health (knock on wood!) and the good health of all my family members. I am thankful that I have a full-time job in this dreadful Michigan economy. Let's all take some time today to reflect on the good things we have in our lives.

Great college football rivalries, and other college football thoughts

2009-11-19T09:42:00.004-05:00

With the upcoming Michigan/Ohio State game, why not take a look at the great college football rivalries.

Michigan/Ohio State, although its light has dimmed in the last few years due to Michigan's non-competitiveness, is still a pretty big deal nationally. Frankly, it probably means way more to the Ohio State fans than to the Michigan fans (although I'm sure many Michigan people would argue vehemently with this). I'm not a fan of either school, although I root for Ohio State in the game, but I do enjoy watching this game every year.

For pageantry and tradition, the Army/Navy game can't be beat. Since almost every American has family member(s) who are in (or were in) either the army or navy, just about everybody has a stake in the game. In my case, I have an uncle who is a West Point graduate, so I pull for Army. Rooting for the Cadets has been hard recently, since the Midshipmen have dominated the series the last few years.

Back when Penn State joined the Big Ten, George Perles had the idea of creating a "rivalry" game between the two pioneer land grant universities, Michigan State and Penn State. I think at least a few MSU fans audibly groaned when it was announced that MSU and PSU would meet the last weekend of every season for the Land Grant Trophy. "Great, that means we have to play Penn State every year." As I expected, MSU hasn't done a particularly good job holding up their end of this supposed "rivalry." MSU has never won in Happy Valley since the series started in 1993, and the Spartans are only 4-4 in East Lansing.

Last year, there was actually something at stake in the MSU/PSU game, with each team playing for the Big Ten title and Rose Bowl berth. Unfortunately, Penn State destroyed MSU, 49-18. Many MSU fans were bothered by what looked like Penn State running up the score, and Penn State celebrating their bid to the Rose Bowl before the game even ended. If the Spartans can pay back the Nittany Lions this weekend in East Lansing, then this game may actually approach something resembling a rivalry. For now, though, the MSU/PSU game is a completely manufactured, fake "rivalry."

Back to great college football rivalries: there's always bad blood between Florida and Florida State, and Auburn/Alabama is about as intense as it gets. Someday, I'd love to go down South and witness the Auburn/Alabama game in person. I am told that Harvard/Yale is a big rivarly going all the way back to about 1760 or so (just kidding), but it's the Ivy League for crying out loud, what Midwesterner like myself really gives a hoot about Harvard/Yale?

As the Big Ten season wraps up, it's certainly been an unusual season. If Michigan loses to Ohio State, the Wolverines will finish in last place for the first time since 1962. (Excuse me while I attempt to stifle my laughter). The divisiveness in Ann Arbor is a joy to behold. Rich Rodriguez deserves at least one more year as U of M's coach, but if the Wolverines get pounded on Saturday, the pressure may be on to remove him. I rather enjoy having him around. Stay tuned!

Catching up

2009-11-15T16:58:00.003-05:00

It's been awhile since I last posted, and I don't have any legitimate excuse. Probably laziness more than anything else.

What have I been up to lately, you ask? Well, last Saturday my wife scored free tickets to the Michigan State/Western Michigan football game. It was easily the best day of the entire autumn, weather-wise and without a doubt the most pleasant November football game I've attended. Seated next to us were a young couple with a baby, and directly in front were two pre-teen girls, so I knew I had to be on my best behavior. Thankfully, the Spartans gave me no reason to even think of hurling an F-bomb, as they won easily, 49-14.

I've been lucking out with free tickets to sporting events. Last Monday, my sister-in-law's husband (does that make him my brother-in-law?) asked me if I'd like to join him to watch the Spartan basketball team take on Grand Valley State. My niece was originally going to go, but had too much homework (imagine that, a kid passing up something fun in order to catch up with homework!). Naturally, not having any homework of my own, I said yes. It was only an exhibition game, but I enjoyed seeing the new faces on this year's team. The Spartans won without a problem.

I haven't forgotten about my "Bargain Bin Finds" reviews. I have a few that I want to do, it's just a matter of finding the time to listen to the albums, jot down some ideas, and write it in this blog. I have had a hell of a time finding ANY time, but it's something I want to do and I promise it'll get done.

I've wanted to write something about baseball, but haven't gotten around to that either. I am a fairly big baseball fan, but not nearly the fan that I was as a child, teen, and young adult. Bud Selig, who has to be the worst commissioner in major league history, has gone out of his way to crush enthusiasm for the national pastime. I could name a litany of reasons why baseball is losing fans, but the most glaring problem is the season is simply too long. The World Series should NEVER be played in November, and I hope that Major League Baseball realizes this and does something to ensure the Fall Classic returns to October.

Looks like I'm gonna have to cut this short. Hope to check in again soon.

Happy Devil's Night!

2009-10-30T19:15:00.003-04:00

Hiya folks, hope all my loyal reader(s) had a good week.

I'm happy to report that I have recovered from MSU's loss to Iowa last Saturday. Disappointing loss for the Spartans, but certainly one of the best college football games I've seen in quite some time. The hard hitting and defensive intensity reminded me of Big Ten gridirion action from the seventies and eighties. In fact, I'd even say that in many respects, the MSU/Iowa game reminded me of the 1966 MSU/Notre Dame 10-10 tie. This is not to say that Iowa and MSU's teams are as talented as those '66 Spartan and Irish teams, but the dominance of the defenses was quite similar. (By the way, I'm definitely not old enough to remember that '66 game, but I do have most of the game on VHS tape and have watched it several times). Anyway, Iowa deserved to win and I wish the Hawkeyes well the rest of the season.

Okay, enough football for now. It seems like everything in our house is falling apart lately. Our 19-year-old garbage disposal died this week, our bed has been falling apart for several months now, and our poor sliding screen door is hopelessly off its track--having been abused too often by a certain four-year-old boy and an eight-year-old boy. We've finally decided to buy a new bed (hopefully tomorrow) and new garbage disposal. The other things will have to be addressed as time (and, most importantly, money) dictates.

Quite some time ago, I wrote about how I wanted to begin a series of music reviews of "bargain bin finds"--critical missives about various musical nuggets found or re-discovered in the Schuler Books and Music bargain section. I want all my adoring readers to know that I haven't forgotten about this project. Since I still moonlight as a substitute clerk at the store, I have become addicted to the music bargain bin, and have found some great stuff in there. It'd be a blast to do little reviews of some of the things I've found. I promise I'll get to that soon, so keep your eyes peeled for the first review.

So why have I not written in here more often, or gotten around to my little music review project? (Oh yeah, I'm supposed to be working on a book, for crying out loud, and have little to show for that). Cue the weepy violins: I begin my workday at 5:30-5:45 AM--sometimes go crazy and sleep in until 6:00 AM. I'm off to work at the library by 6:40 AM and start work at 7 o'clock. I cut out at 3:30 and am in the school car line by 3:50. Once I've picked up the boys, I take them home and it's all about the kids until they go to bed between 8 and 9 PM. By 9:30, I'm exhausted and usually fall asleep. So all my grand plans are not accomplished. Such is the life of a dad with two boys under 10. I do not seek sympathy, but merely tell this tale to illustrate why I haven't gotten around to making this more than the "Mark bitches about MSU sports" blog.

Well, I have to go address some minor family crises. See y'all later!

This one really hurts (Iowa 15, Michigan State 13)

2009-10-25T01:00:00.002-04:00

Two seconds, one play. That's what the Michigan State/Iowa came down to. One play and two seconds determined whether Spartan football fans everywhere would spend the rest of the night in elation, or mope in dejection. Unfortunately for the Spartan nation, Iowa made good use of that two remaining seconds and scored a touchdown from the MSU two yard line and won the game.

I try to tell myself that it's just a game, but this one is a hard pill to swallow. After Iowa took a 9-6 lead, Michigan State got the ball back with just under three minutes left on the clock. The Spartans made two spectacular plays (a brilliant hook-and-ladder and an unbelievable touchdown pass from Kirk Cousins to Blair White) that would have made most people believe that the football gods were smiling down upon Spartan Stadium. However, I've watched too many MSU football games to be sold on the happy ending.

I can't sleep. I shouldn't let a football game bother me like this. Didn't I say a few months ago that I'd never let a stupid football game bother me anymore? Think again. I'm awake, typing on the laptop, and noticing an actress in a late night showing of Goodfellas who looks remarkably like Parker Posey. Is it possible that Parker Posey was in Goodfellas and I'm just now noticing it? (After an extensive web search, I find no reference to Parker Posey appearing in Goodfellas, so it must have been someone who bears a resemblence to Ms. Posey).

It's 1:40 AM and I'm getting a little loopy. Time to wrap up this post. At some point tonight, I'll simply pass out from sheer exhaustion and no doubt have nightmares involving Iowa's Ricky Stanzi completing the game-winning touchdown pass over and over again.